


Pokemon: After the Cataclysm

by IantheRose



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Naruto, Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Black & White | Pokemon Black and White Versions
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hunger Games Setting, Alternate Universe - Naruto Fusion, Eventual Romance, F/M, Gen, Original Character(s), Pokemon - Freeform, Pokemon Are Deadly, Pokemon Journey, Post-Apocalyptic Society
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-29
Updated: 2018-07-07
Packaged: 2019-05-30 04:52:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 28,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15089417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IantheRose/pseuds/IantheRose
Summary: The regions have been devastated by the aftermath of Team Rocket's last, terrible attempt at world domination. Even years later, pokemon worldwide will ruthlessly attack at the mere sight of a human being. The only exceptions to the rule are those few pokemon that have been successfully bonded to a trainer. But trainers, the cities' only defense against the vicious creatures that lay in wait outside their defensive walls, are in short supply. That's were the Reaping comes in.Instituted by the League in the early days after the Cataclysm, the Reaping allows the conscripting of any number of able bodied teenagers necessary on one day out of each year - June 21st. Volunteers are allowed, but with the death rates so high, who would be crazy enough to do that? Oh, wait...You do not need to be familiar with the Hunger Games or Naruto in order to understand this story.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Pokemon: Chaotic World](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/392603) by Revenantzero. 



In the past, pokemon battling was considered something of a sport or a game. Pokemon had usually been content to live in their habitats in the wild and accept the possibility that they might be captured by a traveling pokemon trainer. Of course, there had been incidents when species of more aggressive pokemon would attack travelers or towns, but they were usually taken care of by one of the many pokemon trainers or a member of the Pokemon League. Incredible advances were being made every day in the fields of pokemon studies and technology. However, all of this was before Team Rocket rose in power once more. 

What had once been a diminishing power in the criminal underworlds of the Kanto and Johto regions, made a quick comeback under the new leadership of an unknown master. They quickly began to recruit heavily from the less scrupulous trainers, with no care for age limits. As for strong trainers who refused to join? Their recruitment pitch was ruthless. In a matter of years, branches of the criminal organization had spread from beyond their main bases in Kanto and Johto, spreading throughout all of the major regions: Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, and Kalos. Other criminal teams throughout the regions were either annihilated by Team Rocket or taken over and absorbed into the fold.

Their major grab for power eventually culminated in an attempt to capture one of the Legendary Pokemon, and after managing to steal a master ball, the pinnacle of pokeball technoloy created by Silph Co., their plan ultimately succeeded. A long and drawn out battle soon took place in the Hoenn region between the organization's leadership, the top players of the Pokemon League, and the legendary Sky High Pokemon Rayquaza. At the conclusion of that battle, Team Rocket managed to capture the Legendary. Rayquaza, a dragon and flying type pokemon with the appearance of a flying green serpent, had a weakness to ice, fairy, rock, and dragon type moves, which had been ruthlessly exploited by Team Rocket. Its capture was the beginning of the end.

It started with the enraged Groudon and Kyougre, Legendaries that were part of the same legendary weather trio as Rayquaza. Their wrath was soon shared by the other Legendary Pokemon, before before spreading to infect every other pokemon throughout the regions that didn't have an extremely close bond with a trainer. What followed was a period of raging storms, earthquakes, flooding, and fires that seemed without end, and it had become a common occurance to see one of the Legendary Pokemon leading a rampage of destruction across the regions. By the end of it, the human population had been significantly reduced.

Finally, though, there did come a day where the Legendaries vanished back into obscurity. However, the human race was still faced with the continued threat of the common, everyday pokemon, who's rage and disdain for humanity was unabated. Even the pokemon species that had previously been considered docile had become hostile toward humanity. This period of time widely became known as 'The Cataclysm.' Though the instigators had been Team Rocket, who had been annihilated at the hand of the Legendary Pokemon at the start of the upheaval, the rest of the humanity was still left to deal with the aftermath of their grievous mistakes.

Our towns and cities were constantly plagued by pokemon attacks. There had been thousands, if not millions of casualties worldwide due to the attacks on the cities and the rebellion of the pokemon, not to mention the natural disasters and attacks from the Legendaries. As the death count continued to rise ever higher, the people began building up their defenses in order to survive the onslaught. Those that lived in less populated areas were evacuated to the nearest city, and thick walls made of the strongest known materials rose up around each city. But even when these walls were completed, humanity still struggled to deal with incidents of pokemon sneaking through the defenses by tunneling underground or flying above. Any attempt at travel was precarious at best and lethal at worst. Food needed to be grown within the walls, and pokemon that were kept for food or materials had to be held under complete control through use of powerful sedatives. Pokemon trainers were the only viable form of protection. However, very few trainers remained from the days before the Cataclysm, and there were fewer people still who were willing to become part of the new generation of pokemon trainers.

In the end, a new order was created, revolving around the remnants of the Pokemon League. Each city was appointed one of the strongest remaining trainers as a Gym Leader to be head of the city's security and all the trainers of the city. Trainers were to be ranked by their skill level in the new system, and would be subordinate to the Gym Leader, who would in turn be answerable to the League, which headed the government. Every year the Gyms accepted volunteers to become trainers, but despite the surge in hope that the new order had brought, there were not enough people who were willing to volunteer. The only option left to the League was to instate an annual draft to forcibly conscript pokemon trainers. So it began that on June 21st of every year the names of able bodied boys and girls from the ages of twelve to eighteen years of age were Reaped until there amounted to at least six new trainers every year. Most years, though, the number of children Reaped was higher. 

In this new age, trainers dealt with a much higher difficulty in taming their pokemon than ever before, and they were the cities' best defense against wild pokemon. They came to be respected and feared in equal measure by the people, due to their partnerships with the fearsome beasts pokemon had become, and for their role in the protection of their cities. These days, all trainers live separated into one district of each city – universally called District 13. Located within each city's District 13 were the Pokemon Centers, Pokemarts, Gyms, a multitude of training grounds, and housing for all of the trainers in the city.

However, as the years passed and the fear of pokemon only continued to increase, there came to be less and less volunteers to become trainers. Eventually, it grew to the point that most years had no volunteers at all. Tomorrow will be June 21, 0114, the 109th annual Reaping since the Cataclysm.


	2. Chapter 2

The Aspertia Gym stadium was a hub of nervous energy, full of anxious conversations between the prospective trainers as they waited for Clyde, the Gym Leader, to make an appearance. Every teenager in the city was present to contribute to the noise, as was mandatory. We were seated by age and gender; youngest in the front, oldest in the back, with the girls on the left side and the boys on the right. At fifteen years of age, I was seated near the back of the girls' section. All of the parents had to wait outside, which always created a huge crowd that took up the entire street. They were only able to see what was happening inside by virtue of the instant replay on the large screen set up in front of the Gym.

My own mother was watching that screen this very moment with no idea what I was planning, and I felt a momentary twinge of worry. It was quickly overwhelmed, however, by the thought that the Reaping would be starting soon. My stomach writhed uncomfortably, warring between feelings of nervousness and impatience. Fortunately, the wait didn't last much longer because at exactly one o'clock, Clyde came out to stand behind the podium that has been set up for the occasion. The crowd of teenagers remained in their state of uproar until Clyde lifted his fingers to his mouth and let out an ear piercing whistle. The noise quickly settled down to sparse whispers, which in turn was followed by complete silence.

“Let's get this show on the road,” the Gym Leader said in a gruff voice, magnified by the microphone. The Gym Leader was a strong but silent kind of man, who was always straight to the point when he decided to speak. In his old age, he'd only grown more blunt with his words. Hearing him speak always brought back memories of being a wide eyed little girl watching the outdoor screening alongside my parents, as my older sister waited fearfully within the Gym stadium.

“This year, only six of you will be chosen to become pokemon trainers.” There was a brief smattering of relieved whispers throughout the room. “Training pokemon is not an easy task. There is a good chance that anyone who is chosen to become a trainer on this day will die young. However, every trainer is of vital importance to the protection of this city, and we expect those of you who are chosen to do your best to honor that responsibility, regardless of the circumstances that lead you to become a trainer.” I rubbed surreptitiously at the goosebumps that had risen on my arms.“That being said,” Clyde concluded, “are there any volunteers?” 

His tone of voice made it obvious that he expected no response, but it was the moment I'd been waiting for. My hand trembled slightly as I lifted it into the air, and the stares of everyone in the room were drawn to me as I stood up. Hushed conversations sprung up throughout the crowd, and Clyde's eyebrows lifted slightly in surprise before he motioned me up to the stage. It had been a good few years since anybody had volunteered during a Reaping. The other girls in my row all cringed away from me like I was diseased as I squeezed past them. As I made my way closer to the podium, I made a concentrated effort to control my shaking hands. Once I climbed up the stairs to the stage, Clyde placed a firm grip on my shoulder, looking at me piercingly with his dark eyes as he asked for my name and age. There was a strange twist to his lips as he turned to repeat my information into the microphone.

“Dahlia Moore, age fifteen,” echoed out into the absolute silence. “Are there anymore volunteers?” You could hear a pin drop in the quiet. No one moved so much as an inch, unwilling to draw attention to themselves. I was equally unwilling to draw more attention to myself as I stood stock still next to the podium. “No?” the Gym Leader queried, giving it another moment. “On with the Reaping then.” Clyde reached into the big glass bowl for the first draw.

“Sandra Gregorio, age fourteen.” A tall girl with sun-streaked brown hair shakily stood, then walked slowly up to the stage. Her face richly tanned face drawn and pale. Once she reached the stage, she stood to my right with her head down and her arms wrapped tightly around herself.

“Joseph Rogers, age sixteen.” Joseph was lean boy with messy dark blond hair who bore a grim expression on his face as he took his place to the left of the podium, opposite me. He was dressed in ripped jeans and a well-worn black t-shirt. I vaguely recognized him from the class one year above me in my school.

“Damon Whitfield, age fifteen.” Damon's was a familiar name, which I recognized as belonging to the heartthrob of my age group as he stood up. I had overheard countless conversations between the girls in my class on the topic of his supposed bad boy attitude and good looks. He was fairly tall, with dark hair and slate gray eyes. He frowned forbiddingly at the crowd as he took his spot next to Joseph, his hands shoved firmly in the pockets of his jeans.

“Zachary Travis, age twelve.” The kid who rose to his feet next was tall - especially for his age - and skinny. His hair was light brown and shaggy. On his way up to the stage he tripped and almost fell, only catching himself at the last minute. His jeans were noticeably short, and his white tennis shoes were scuffed. In all, his walk to the stage was pretty awkward. He came to a stop at Sandra's right.

“Geoffrey Crawford, age thirteen.” Geoffrey had the most negative reaction so far, turning deathly pale upon hearing his name called. He remained frozen in his seat, his breath coming in quick gasps as if he was hyperventilating. Despite the urging his nearby year-mates, he remained in his chair. Just as it looked like the observing trainers were about to step in, a voice rang out, and all eyes turned toward the back of the auditorium.

“I volunteer,” the young woman shouted once more, with slightly less volume. “I'll take his place.” She walked shakily up to the front and engaged in a whispered conversation with Clyde after clamoring onto the stage, standing to the far left. Her riotously curly hair was the same shade of flaming red as Geoffrey's, though she lacked the abundance of freckles that were evident on her brother's face.

“Linda Crawford, age sixteen.” Clyde stated solemnly, and if it weren't for the microphone his voice would have been inaudible to the audience. His eyes, so dark that they appeared black, were shadowed as he stared one last time at my former peers. “...The rest of you are dismissed.”

As one, everyone who's name hadn't been drawn began to chatter loudly in relief as they streamed out of the Gym, eager to get away from fear and uncertainty of it all. The sudden loudness was a shock to the system after the fearful quiet that had been upheld during the Reaping. After several minutes, the Gym was empty except for myself, the other new trainers, and Clyde. The next part was something I had been quietly dreading, when the parents of those chosen to become the newest pokemon trainers were allowed to enter the Gym in order to say goodbye.They came through the doors in a slow trickle, having to fight their way through the jubilent crowd of exiting teenagers to get in.

A woman who looked a lot like the first girl who'd been Reaped, Sandra, and a dark haired man entered together. They were her parents by the way the woman embraced her immediately. The mother and daughter were both crying, while her father gripped her shoulders tightly from behind. A tall, red haired man and a woman with curly blond hair appeared, to have a quiet, serious conversation with Linda Crawford. Zachary Travis' mother was a tall, thin woman wearing a business suit who was frowning as she spoke to him.

My mom filed in as well a few minutes later, looking pale and drawn. My dad was working the fields today, and wouldn't hear about this until later. I don't think I'd ever been more nervous as I watched my mom slowly walk across the stadium to me. She stopped about a foot in front of me and looked me in the eyes, her chocolate colored eyes gazing straight into my own similarly colored ones. Then, abruptly, she reached out and pulled me into a hug so tight, I was briefly afraid that my ribs would crack. Like my father, she worked in the fields, and the years of manual labor had made her quite strong for a woman of her short stature. My eyes burned painfully as I fought against tears, inhaling her comforting scent as I leaned down to hug her back. Though I knew she loved me, a small part of me had worried that she might want wipe her hands of me. I knew there were families that did just that if their children were chosen as trainers, too fearful of their association with pokemon. Especially since I'd actually chosen this for myself. We remained in our position for several minutes without speaking, until finally, she loosened her grip and stepped back, though she kept her hands on my arms.

“Be careful,” was the first thing she said, her voice raspy and her eyes bright with unshed tears. “And make sure to call the house when you can. Your father and Beck will want to speak with you.” With that, she left a lingering kiss on my forehead just before she and the other parents were ushered out. My dad hadn't been able to afford to take a day off from his work, and my younger brother, Beck, who was paralyzed from the waist down, had never accompanied us to a Reaping. Our older sister Thea usually watches him on Reaping Days, when our parents can't. Thea, who is ten years older than me, had recently gotten married, and had been slowly drifting away from us since she moved to District 3. Her new home was an upper-middle class district, and her new husband, Rodney, was an up and coming architect. We had all been delighted to see her when she'd arrived that morning to look after Beck. I'd given her an extra tight hug before leaving this morning because I worried that it would be the last time I ever saw her. She was deathly afraid of anything pertaining to pokemon, and would likely never speak to me again due to the decision I'd made. I watched my mother until she vanished through the doors. After all of the parents had been successfully ushered out, Clyde whistled once more to get our attention.

“Walk and listen, kids,” he barked, leading us out the doors of the Gym at brisk pace. “This week will be used for educating yourselves on whatever you think you need to know about pokemon before your Trial. No one is going to babysit you, and whatever you learn is entirely up to you. Once the week is up, you will go out in the wilderness to complete your Trial, and your Trial will only be finished once you return alive with a pokemon, or die outside the walls. Upon the completion of your Trial, you will automatically become what is known as an E class trainer, which is the lowest possible trainer rank. As an E class trainer, you will only be allowed one pokemon on your team. Once you pass the rank test to reach D class, you will gain one more pokemon slot on your team. Each rank you reach after that will gain you two more spots for pokemon on your team, and the ranks go as follows: E rank, D rank, C rank, B rank, A rank, and S rank. S class trainers, who have reached the highest achievable rank, are allowed to carry up to ten pokemon at one time. If you ever catch more pokemon than you have space for on your team, that pokemon will be placed in stasis. You can only have two pokemon in stasis at any given time; this will remain true for the entirety of your career as a trainer.”

While the Gym Leader continued with his flood of information, I kept an ear on him while also taking the time to observe my fellow trainers. The red headed girl and the tall kid, Zachary, both seemed subdued, but were listening intently. The other girl, Sandra looked to be in shock though, staring blankly into the air in front of her. Damon was scowling darkly at the ground as he walked, while Joseph, the messy, blond haired boy from the year above me in school, appeared to be drinking in our surroundings. Which was understandable given that this was our first time seeing District 13 beyond the Gym. It would also be our home district from this day forward. I felt a slight pang of homesickness at that, so I focused my attention back on Clyde'swords.

“You will be allowed to stay in rooms at the Pokemon Center free of charge for six months, with two free meals a day for your first two weeks and one free meal a day after those two weeks are up. After your six months are up, you'll have to find your own living space. Feel free to ask any of the more experienced trainers any questions you have. Some of them might give you good advise.” We stopped at a building with a red roof that was several blocks away from the Gym. It was around the same size of the Gym, with vague, stylized image of a pokeball above the automatic door. Clyde proceeded to lead us inside, where we ended up in a spacious lobby. “Welcome to the Pokemon Center. Directly in front of you is the pokemon hospital. At the front desk, you will usually find one of the Nurse Joys.”Clyde gestured toward a woman with distinctive pink hair that was tied back in two loops. She smiled warmly and waved when she saw us looking.

“To your right is the Center Pokemart,” Clyde pointed, drawing our attention again, “which only sells basic supplies: your regular pokeballs, potions, repels, antidotes, and what not. On your left is the lounge, an area for trainers to hang out and relax. At the end of the hallway next to the lounge is the cafeteria. The doorways in to the left and right of the hallway lead to the library and computer room respectively. Your rooms are upstairs, along with the communal showers and bathrooms. E class trainers aren't allowed to go out on jobs, but once you make the jump to being D class trainers, you will be able to take missions appropriate for your rank. You can find missions either in the online database or posted in the lounge.” The Gym Leader, paused looking each of us in the eyes. “Nurse Joy will give you your room assignments. She will also be giving you a starter manual. I expect each of you to meet me here at eight sharp tomorrow morning.” With that, he was out the door before any of us even realized he had moved.

There was a long moment of awkward silence as we all stared blankly at one another. It was Damon who made the first move. He rolled his eyes with a huff and slouched off in the direction of the front desk, and the rest of us quickly followed in suit.

“Hello,” Nurse Joy welcomed, walking out from behind the desk with six keys in her hand. “Ladies first,” she handed numbered keys out; number two to Linda, three to me, and five to Sandra. Rooms seven, eight, and nine went to Joseph, Damon, and Zachary. “Girls will be on the hall to the left, boys on the right,” she explained. She then started handing out booklets to everyone. “These manuals basically just expand on what Gym Leader Clyde has already told you, though I'm sure there are some things he didn't get to. It's definitely worth a read.” She clasped her hands together with a slight bow. “With that said, I wish you all the best of luck. If you have any questions, I am always willing to answer them, and my fellow Nurse Joy feels the same. Good night,” she said with one last smile, before returning to her post.

While I stood awkwardly, unsure what to do, Linda tugged Sandra off to the side, where she spoke to her for several minutes, trying to draw her out of her shell-shocked state. Soon enough they headed up the stairs, presumably to find their rooms. Damon and Joseph exchanged speculative looks, then simultaneously headed toward the the lounge, where an old movie was playing on the TV. Zachary, the youngest of us, stood awkwardly by himself for several moments before heading down the hall. I followed him, thinking about trying to talk to him, but when he continued on to the cafeteria, my eye was caught by the library. Upon stepping inside, I found rows upon rows of towering book shelves. There were also tables and chairs placed strategically throughout. As I browsed through the numerous shelves, I was pleased to find a very broad selection of books ranging from fiction to geography, technology, and beyond. The largest section was, of course, dedicated to books about pokemon.

It was late in the evening by the time I decided to settle down in my room, planning to read through my manual. No sooner had I climbed into my new bed, however, than I started to feel drowsy, and I quickly found myself succumbing to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

I woke up around six o'clock the next morning, used to being up early during the summer to help my parents with their work in the fields. Considering that I had made a decision that had irrevocably changed my entire life the day before, I had slept surprisingly well. And noticing that I had neglected to do so the previous night, I decided to take a closer look at the room that would be my home for the foreseeable future. 

The bed I had slept on was the bottom of a twin sized bunk bed that stood about an inch away from the room's light beige wall, on the left side of the room. There was matching bunk bed was set against the opposite wall as well. Both of the beds bore clean white sheets and lavender covers. All of the furnishings, such as the dresser and the bed frames, were made of dark wood. The only window in the room was directly across from the door, with curtains that matched the bed. Once I looked in the closet and dresser, I found a collection of sturdy, neutral toned girls clothing in multiple sizes, all of them embossed with the pokeball emblem. After I found ones there were my size, I proceeded to dress myself. 

Once I finished with the rest of my preparations for the day, I wandered downstairs for some breakfast. Nurse Joy gave me a welcoming smile from her place behind the medical desk, but beyond that the Center seemed deserted. There were a few more people to be found in the cafeteria. The man at the food line had a bland, forgettable kind of appearance if you didn't take into account the thick, vivid scar that ran across his throat. He gave me a brief smile before wordlessly gesturing at different selections of breakfast food, spooning the ones I gave approval of onto a plate. Once he was finished serving up the food, he put the plate and a carton of milk on a tray and slid it to me over the counter without a single word being exchanged.

I sat by myself at one of the empty round tables, trying to observe the other trainers in the room without being too obvious. There were seven of them in all. Three women who looked like they were in their twenties were all sitting together, conversing amiably. A man and woman in their thirties, who I thought might be a couple, sat together at another. The last two were sitting by themselves as well, a boy that looked around my age and a different Nurse Joy than the one I'd passed on my way to the cafeteria. I thought I noticed some of the trainers studying me as I tucked into my meal, and resolutely kept my eyes trained on my food in an effort to avoid unwanted eye contact. In the time it took me to eat my food, only the teenage boy finished his meal and left. As soon as I was done eating, I made a beeline for the library, which was empty except for the worker at the desk.

The first thing I did was read through the manual I'd been given the night before. I found that Nurse Joy had been honest when she said most of the information within had been covered by Clyde on the walk over, though there were a few pieces of information that I found useful. It was also nice to go through the material at my own pace, since Clyde had crammed so much information into the speech he'd given us the previous night. Reading through it only took me half an hour though, so I decided to do a bit more studying before I had to meet with the Gym Leader. I was mostly interested in looking up what kind of pokemon were commonly found around Aspertia, though I also did some checking up on weaknesses that I might be able to exploit in the different pokemon types if I ran into them. The last thing I ended up looking into was which pokemon were particularly strong or rare in the Unova region, led purely by my curiosity. It was my end goal was to become a strong trainer, after all. And though it hadn't been something I'd originally thought would be useful for my Trial, some of the information had been quite interesting, and by the time I headed over to meet with the other trainers, I had the beginning of an idea developing in my mind. 

The group of us who'd been Reaped ended up meeting in the front area a few minutes before the set meeting time. The other two girls stuck beside each other, and Zachary lurked near the two older boys, but no one was talking. While we all waited for the Gym Leader to arrive, I caught youngest boy looking at me, and tried to give him an encouraging smile, but his only response was to blush and quickly look away. When Clyde arrived, he merely grunted before for us to follow him. His face was drawn, and his eyes looked tired as we followed him out of the Center. 

We followed him the few blocks back to the gym again, going in through a side door. It opened into a room full of weapons; a deadly collection of knives, swords, spears, and staffs, with a few bows and arrows thrown in for color. After we'd all filed inside, Clyde turned to face us.

“During your Trial,” he began in a rumbling voice, “you will be alone in the wild without any protection. As such, you will each be provided with a knife and one other weapon of your choice in order to defend yourselves. The knives will be yours to keep, and if you end up wanting to keep whatever other weapon you choose,” he said, tossing a knife into the air and catching it by the hilt, “the Gym will allow you to keep it on loan until you manage to pay it off.” He looked everyone in the eye, his face serious. His face looked old, a thought I'd never entertained before, despite his gray hair and abundance of wrinkles. He always seemed so much larger than life. “I strongly encourage you to find a weapon that suits you and train yourself to use it. Even if you pass your Trials and end up with a team of strong, well-trained pokemon, there is always a possibility that the danger will slip past your team and get to you. It always pays to be prepared. Now remember,” he said abruptly, with a loud clap of his hands. Several of us flinched in surprise. “One knife, and one weapon of your choice.” He waved his hands at us. “Get going.”

I was the first to move, deciding to look through the various knives to start with. I lifted a few, testing their weight and the size of the hilt in my hands, before settling on a simple, mid-sized knife that looked big enough to do some damage if needed, but not so big that the grip and weight felt cumbersome in my hands. The hilt was bound with worn black leather and it seemed like the blade would be durable. As I began to browse through the other weapons, it was clear that there were more swords available to choose from than any other kind of weapon, which made sense after some thought. Swords are capable of dealing a lot of damage and they have a better reach than knives. It didn't hurt that they also had the advantage of looking cool. Still, the sharp edges of the swords made me a nervous, so I moved on. 

I was able to spot a few spears when I looked around, but all of the shafts were made of wood. When I tried to picture myself using one to defend against an attacking pokemon, the imaginary spear snapped in half. I didn't know if that was something that would really happen, of course, but I steered clear nonetheless. I spent a good amount of time considering a heavy duty set of metal batons, but I eventually decided to look for something with more reach. I didn't particularly want to get quite so close and personal with whatever wild pokemon I ended up encountering. I figured that the bows I noticed would most likely take to much time and practice to really be of much use. Finally, my gaze touched upon the staffs. There were only three of them, and two - like the spears - were also made of wood, but the last one was a simple rod of dull blackish metal. It was about an inch thick and several inches taller than me. It was heavy when I lifted it, but I thought it would make my hits heavier too, if I could learn to deal with the weight. 

Having made my decision, I rested one end of the pole against my right shoulder in order to relieve the stress of the weight on my arms, and carried it over to where several of the others had already gathered, most of them having predictably selected varying types of swords. The last person to choose her weapon was Linda. She headed over with her selection of a bow and a quiver of arrows a few minutes after I did, though the knife she'd picked out was one of the longest ones available. 

Our little group was then guided to another room on the other side of the Gym stadium. It was a training room with a large, open area, with several wooden posts on one side to practice using weapons on, and another area full of strength training equipment on the other side. The Gym Leader left to our own devices after demonstrating how to use the equipment, and the two oldest boys, Joseph and Damon, immediately started hacking away at the posts with single minded determination. 

Linda, Sandra, and Zach started out with much more caution. I did the same, testing the weight of my pole and giving a few careful swings. I fumbled with it a few times – particularly when I tried to spin it like a baton – but I felt more comfortable with it than I think I would have been with any of the other weapons. It was very heavy though, and I grew tired quickly. The other two girls headed back to the Center twenty minutes later. I was tempted to follow them, but in the end made myself continue to practice. I didn't want to end up dead just because I didn't know one end of my new stick from the other. Only after a full hour had passed did I finally allow myself to go back to the Pokemon Center. By the end of it though, I was more than ready for the long, hot shower I'd taken before heading back downstairs to take a look at the computer room. 

There were computers lining three of the walls, and a few rows taking up the middle of the room, along with a couple of other machines that I didn't know the function of. It all looked like the latest in modern technology. At least, more so than the computers I was accustomed to using. I spent several minutes sitting at one of the computers before I realized that using one of the physical maps in the library would be easier for the research I planned to do on the surrounding area. Before I got up to move to the library though, I allowed myself to be distracted by the pokemon database, which was much more efficient than a book when it came to looking up information about pokemon. I only planned on taking a quick look, but soon lost track of time. 

I was in the middle of compiling a list of pokemon that I would want to catch if given the opportunity when shaggy haired figure sat down at the computer next to me. When I glanced at the clock on the bottom corner of my screen, I found that I'd been sitting in the same spot for close to four hours. Surreptitiously stretching my back to fight against the building soreness, I kept my eyes on my screen, wondering if I should try to talk to him. In the end, I didn't have to though.

“H-Hi,” he said nervously, making the first move. He glance at me out of the corner of his eye, but snapped his attention back to his computer when he saw that I was looking at him. He tapped nervously at a few of the keys.

“Hello,” I returned cautiously, moving my eyes back to my computer to avoid startling him. He reminded me of a baby deerling – all nerves and long knobbly legs. 

He fidgeted in his seat. “I'm Zach – well, Zachary, but everyone calls me Zach.” Taking a quick glance at him, I noticed that his cheeks were turning red, and he was staring steadfastly down where his hands were placed on the keyboard.

I smiled at him. “My name is Dahlia. It's nice to officially meet you.” I told him, turning fully in his direction. His blush increased, spreading all the way to his ears before dying back down a little.

“Um, what are you doing?” Zach asked, confidence blooming. I spared a glance at the notebook I'd been scribbling in all day.

“I'm researching,” I said. “About stuff that I think would be good to know during the Trials.” Zach swallowed audibly at the mention, and I hesitated briefly before I continued. “I've been looking into what pokemon will probably be the easiest to catch, a little bit, and which pokemon have strong evolutional lines. And a bit about their weaknesses,” I prompted. He exhaled shakily, wringing his hand together.

“Do you think you can help me a little?” He asked haltingly, “Just with what to look out for and what's the easiest to catch?” He looked down again. “I'm not very good at looking things up on computers. Or in books.” He looked morosely at his computer screen, which is still on the homepage. I had to bite my lip to stifle a smile as I grabbed my notebook, the quick movement drawing his eyes back to me. I flipped back a few pages to find the one I had in mind. Giving it one last examination, I underlined a few more relevant pieces of information before tearing it out and handing it to him. It was filled front to back with information about the easiest to catch pokemon in the area in my small, clean handwriting.

“This is the information I think will be the most useful to you,” I explained, before exiting out of my page.

“But what about you?” he asked concernedly, looking at the paper as if I'd just handed him a nugget of gold.

“It's all mostly in my head,” I replied, tapping said body part with a finger as I stood up, my stomach growling with hunger. “And if I need to look at it again, I'll just ask you to borrow it, or look it up again.” That was unlikely to be necessary though. My memory was pretty good usually, especially in regards to information that might literally save my life. “I'm going to grab some lunch in the cafeteria. Do you want to come with me?” Zach responded with a bright look and an eager nod, and I led the way out of the library doors.

The cafeteria was a lot more crowded this time, so I felt less self-conscious, though having someone to sit with also helped. Sitting with Zach was an interesting experience. Though both of us were pretty shy to begin with, we were able to keep up a steady stream of conversation. Zach, especially, turned out to be quite the chatter box once he opened up, and he had a ton of questions about pokemon. I'd been interested in pokemon my whole life, but the information available to civilians wasn't very detailed, and though I had been studying about them near constantly since the Reaping, there were understandably quite a few questions I didn't know the answer to. What I could do, though, was help Zach find the answers he wanted later. It was the start of a beautiful friendship.

For the rest of the week leading up to the Trials, Zach spent a lot of time accompanying me to the library or computer room. He didn't share my ability to sit quietly for hours at a time, so he wasn't always with me, and sometimes he would drag me over to the Gym to build strength and practice using weapons instead, but I was able to help out with research. He especially appreciated when I was able to find pictures to go along with the material. I also ended up crossing paths with the others quite often. Linda and Sandra studied in the library quite frequently as well, usually together, and while they never sought me out, Linda always made a point to be friendly when she saw me or Zach. It always made him blush terribly. Sandra remained fearful. Though she dutifully spent time in the library and at the Gym, I noticed that she was easily distracted, and she never seemed all there to me. 

The other boys were a slightly different story. They tended to spend most of their time in the Gym together, and when I did see them studying, it was usually separately. I also rarely saw any other trainers outside of the cafeteria. I later learned that during the time around the Trials, most of them steered clear of the Pokemon Center and Gym as much as possible to make sure all of the resources were available for the newbies. Nurse Joy was always happy to answer questions though. It was a very busy week between the work I did at the Gym and all the research I was doing. Before I knew it, the first day of the Trials was looming ahead of me.


	4. Chapter 4

As the morning of the Trials dawned, all of the prospective trainers gathered in front of the Gym, where Clyde met us along with three other trainers, looking more serious than I'd ever seen him. Considering what I knew of his usual disposition, that was saying something. The six of us were standing almost at attention as he began speaking.

“Aspertia City has four gates, one at each of the cardinal directions. Our city rests right against the edge of a mountain. The west gate opens directly into the mountain. To the north and south, you will find forest and parts of the mountain range. East leads to more forest, but if you keep going for a few miles, you'll find the ocean. A few miles northeast are the remains of what used to be a town, Floccesy. This,” Clyde held up his left arm, where a device that looked similar to a watch was strapped, “is an Xtranceiver. Each of you will be receiving one of these before you go out. It is programmed with a map, my number, and, of course, the time. They are each capable of making and receiving video calls once they're registered to you, which won't until you've succeeded in your Trial.” He opened the bag on his shoulder and began to distribute them. I received a light purple one, while the pink and teal ones went to the other two girls. The red, black, and dark blue ones were given to the boys.

“Once you're out there, you will be allowed to return every night. But you will have to go back out every morning until you either come back with a captured pokemon or don't come back at all. It is suggested that you don't stick together. When you try to capture your first pokemon, they will know that you are inexperienced. If, on top of that, they think you needed to rely on the help of someone else to capture them, they will never respect you. This is a well documented fact. Also, should you catch a pokemon that you are unable to control, that pokemon will be put down, and you will have to repeat your Trial.” He motioned at the other trainers present, who began to pass out bags to us. “Each of these bags contain three pokeballs, one bottle of repel, three potions, one antidote, one paralyze heal, three bottles of water, a several granola bars, dried berries, and bags of beef jerky, a compass, a matchbook, and rope. Those who are going North, follow James. East, follow Sarah. South, Graham. If your going west, follow me.” Damon and Sandra went with Clyde. Linda went South, while Zach went East. Joseph and I followed James to the North gate. 

“So I hear you volunteered,” James said, glancing at me as we made our way to the gate. He had light blond hair, tan skin, and sea green eyes. As far as I could tell, he was in his late teens. Joseph's shoulders were stiff as he walked next to me.

“Yeah,” I agreed, keeping my eyes trained ahead. There was a pause.

“That's a pretty brave move,” he prompted.

“Thanks,” I said noncommittally, silently willing him to drop the subject. 

“How long have you been a trainer?” Joseph chimed in, giving James a narrow eyed look. I could feel the older teenager looking at me, but he allowed the change in subject.

“Two years,” he said. “My name was drawn when I was fourteen. I'm a B class trainer now.” I tilted my head slightly at the information.

“If you don't mind my asking, what was your first pokemon?” This question caused him to smile fondly.

“I don't mind. My first catch was a Snivy. I went out this same gate and caught her on the first day.” His smile was replaced by a slight frown. “I was lucky. Out of the twelve trainers in my year, four of them never came back. And all of the others took more than one day to catch their pokemon.” 

“You got any last minute advice?” Joseph asked tensely as we reached the gate. James tapped his upper lip thoughtfully.

“Clyde has already covered most of it,” he told us. “Snivy, Tepig, and Oshawott are fairly common and generally easy to catch, and they all evolve into strong pokemon, which is why they were common starter pokemon before the Cataclysm. Umm, when you see grass and bug type pokemon, you need to watch out for poison. Oh, yeah,” he said as he motioned at the trainers at the gate to open it up. “Don't try to catch evolved pokemon. Not only will they break free of the pokeball, but it is generally recommended to catch the unevolved forms because they're easier to bond with.” He motioned at the open gate. “Time to go. Good luck,” he said, squeezing Joseph's shoulder with a halfhearted smile and sending a wink in my direction. Joseph and I both stepped through the gate, and it immediately shut behind us. We simultaneously turned to face each other.

“I'm heading northeast,” I told him, with a nod in the appropriate direction. 

He gave me a terse grin in return. “Guess that means I'm headed northwest. ” He started to turn away, but I grabbed his wrist, stopping him. Even though we hadn't really spoken much, I was still worried. This might be the last time I ever saw, either because he didn't return, or I didn't. I wanted to leave it on a good note.

“Good luck, Joseph,” is all I managed to get out, though. He covered my hand on his wrist with his own, delaying the inevitable by lingering for a few seconds. 

“You too. And call me Joey. I hate my full name.” He said in a rough voice, before stepping away. I let my hand drop back to my side. “See you on the other side,” he promised. Then he turned and walked away. I stared at his back for a few minutes before doing the same. 

As I made my way through the forest, it was hard not to jump at every shadow, knowing that there could be pokemon lurking in every tree. I tried to limit my reaction to the tightening of my grip on my staff, and wished I could be more excited about my first time going outside the city.

Ten minutes in I let out a muffled screech when a pokemon dropped on my head. I immediately shook it off, panic and adrenaline fueling me as I swung my staff at it again an again, until I was sure it was dead. I was panting and shaking by the end of it, but I had been fortunate. The pokemon that I now recognized to be a Sewaddle was probably very young and hadn't developed a tough hide yet. Otherwise I likely wouldn't have been able to kill it. I got away from it as quickly as possible in order to avoid any other pokemon that might have been attracted by the scent of its blood. 

Another twenty minutes later I stopped to check my bearings on the compass and take a sip of water from one of my bottles. My plan was to head northeast, past Floccesy Town to reach the abandoned Flocessy Ranch. I'd read in my research that prior to the Cataclysm, young Riolu had been known to stay there. According to the databases I'd searched, this was because before Riolu evolved, they sought out peaceful areas with easy access to food and water, where they could train until they were strong enough to evolve. Floccesy Ranch fit that description nicely, with its berry orchards and ponds. Once the Riolu were stronger, they migrated to the mountains for heavier training to become Lucario.

The upsides to my plan were that there weren't very many strong pokemon documented at the ranch and Riolu were rare, coveted pokemon, known to be highly intelligent. When in the hands of a trainer they approved of, their empathetic abilities made them one the easier species to train. It was my hope that I would be lucky enough to find one of them, and that it would eventually grow to respect me. I did have a backup plan, though, since there was no guarantee that Riolu still lived at the ranch, or that I would find one if they did.

One of the downsides to my plan was that the ranch was so far away from Aspertia that I wouldn't be able to go back to the city for the night. I wouldn't even reach the ranch until the next day, and if you added the amount of time it would take to find a Riolu and the time needed for the return trip, I was going to be out there for a while. Altogether, I probably wouldn't be able to return to the city for four days at least, probably more.

***

By the time night fell, I had been chased by a Lillipup, had only narrowly avoided a Whirlipede as it rolled past at high speeds, and had also seen an Audino in the distance, though luckily it hadn't seen me. I decided to spend the night in an indention I found between the roots of a large tree. I would be mostly hidden from sight, and I also sprayed some repel around the area for good measure, before settling down to sleep. 

I was awake before the sun the next morning, still tired, but too restless to sleep. My paranoia had woken me several times throughout the night at the slightest of noises, and I was eager to get moving. I ate granola bar and washed it down with a few sips of water before packing up and moving on.

I made pretty good time despite a couple of close calls with a group of Patrats, until a terrifying encounter with a Watchdog, the evolved form of Patrat, that had been too fast for me to get away from. It had left me with several bleeding scratches and uncontrollably shaking hands after I finally managed to dissuade it with my metal staff. That close call had really driven home the fact that I could die at any moment if I took a wrong step in this forest.

The sun was high in the sky when I finally stumbled on to the ranch. I'd finally spotted the walls of Floccesy Town from a distance about fifteen minutes back, and had been scoping out the surrounding woods. The Flocessy Ranch looked like it was teeming with pokemon, so I was hopeful that all my hard work wouldn't come to nothing. If my plan to find a Riolu didn't bear fruit, I was prepared to catch whatever else caught my eye, but I hoped it didn't come to that.

The old ranch house was in shambles. One of the walls was completely destroyed, and the fences were in various states of disrepair. I wandered around back and found the orchard. It was overgrown and wild, spotted with weeds, but there were berries everywhere. I picked berries as I went, eating some but putting most of them in a compartment of my bag. I was careful to keep an eye out for pokemon, but I only saw a few Pidoves and another Patrat. Fortunately, all of their attention was on the fallen berries, and they didn't seem to notice me as I sneaked past. 

Soon enough, I couldn't fit anymore berries in without crushing them or impeding my ability to retrieve objects from my bag. I left the orchard and came across a small clearing with a small brook running through it. I let my bag drop to the ground and knelt down to wash my face. I felt filthy, and didn't want to imagine what I'd see if I had a mirror.

Out of the blue, something crashed painfully into my side, sending me skidding a several feet, and causing my staff to tumble out of my grasp. In some bizarre twist of fate, a small, blue creature that looked like a masked dog stood in the spot I had just been forcefully removed from, positioned in an upright fighting stance. It was a Riolu. Seeing this, I rolled over to my staff and grabbed it, just in time to see the small blue creature bolting toward me. I swept the staff at when it was almost on me, barely managing to push it off course, then used the time it took to recover to scramble to my feet. It then came at me with a quick attack that was too fast for me to react to. It rammed in to my midriff, causing me to stumble back a few steps and my breathe to leave me with an audible 'whoosh.' I was able to catch myself on my staff in a turn of luck, but I couldn't seem to breathe for several precious seconds. 

Stumbling to the side like drunk to avoid a tackle, I blindly waved my staff around, and miraculously managed to score a glancing blow off the side of the Riolu's head. It stumble a little, then I immediately had to jump back to avoid another quick attack. I didn't manage to avoid the next one though, and it sent me tumbling to the ground again. In a stroke of luck, I fell directly next to my bag. I smacked the Riolu away again and fumbled around in my bag as it regained its bearings. My questing fingers met the spherical form of a pokeball just as the pokemon came at again. This time, when it hit me in the chest as I struggled to my feet, I grabbed it before it could dart away. As it struggled against me to escape, I carefully maneuvered my arm to tap expanded pokeball in my hand against the Riolu's side. It was sucked into the pokeball in a red beam of light, which rocked once, twice, then three times before stilling in my hand.

My heart was beating out a fast rhythm in my ears, and I let out a gusty sigh, before sinking to the ground in a heap, panting. I was almost completely covered in mud from the stream's bank, and my entire body ached, particularly my ribs. When I rolled my shirt up to check them, I found that they were already bruising, as were my chest and shoulders. There was a lump on the back of my head that I didn't remember receiving, and I had a fair few cuts and scrapes, but by some miracle, all of my injuries seemed to be superficial. 

I warily picked up the pokeball and secured it in my bag before crawling over to the stream again to wash some of the mud off, keeping my weapon close at hand. I didn't linger long, memories of fighting for my life fresh in my mind. I sipped a little bit of potion, ate a few berries and some jerky, then moved my remaining pokeballs into my pant pockets, not wanting another repeat of being separated from my bag. Quickly scouting out a good nook to sleep in, I dropped to the ground and laid my head on my bag. Even though the sun had just begun to set, I was exhausted. I curled up and dropped straight to sleep.

***

The next morning, I woke to the sun shining on my eyelids and something wet moving over my hand. Holding completely still, I cautiously opened my eyes, and orange and black immediately filled my vision. The Growlithe didn't notice that I was awake and continued to nose and paw at my bag. I slowly moved my hand to the pocket I had placed my pokeballs in, but the Growlithe saw it and snapped its attention to my face, growling menacingly. 

I rolled away, disentangling from my bag as I went and was about to toss it away from me when I paused. The Growlithe's eyes were glued to the bag even as it growled, and it was sniffing the air. I finagled my hand into the bag to grab a few berries. Its eyes were trained intently on my hand as I waved the berries around and its fierce growl grew louder as it took a step toward me. I quickly tossed one in the Growlithe's direction and it snapped the berry out of the air. When I threw the next one high, so that it would land behind it, the pokemon raced after it and I slipped a pokeball out of my pocket while it was distracted. 

Priming the pokeball behind my back, I threw the last berry in my hand past it in the same manner as soon as it seemed to be turning its attention back to me. The instant the pokemon's focus was on the berry, I threw the pokeball. It just barely hit the Growlithe on one of its legs, absorbing it in a stream of red light and immediately starting to rock furiously. I took my last empty ball as a precaution. It was a very good thing I had done so, because the Growlithe burst out of the ball, snarling and lunging. I desperately primed the last ball and tossed it in quick succession, which sucked the puppy pokemon in again. As it rocked back and forth, I readied my weapon. Luckily, this time the pokeball worked, and it stopped rocking with a light 'ding.'

I slumped down against a tree with tears in my eyes, and pressed the palm of my shaking hand against my forehead in self-recrimination. I had forgotten to spray repel last night in my exhausted state, and the smell of the berries in my bag must have attracted the Growlithe. There had been too many instances in the past couple of days that I had survived purely by luck. By all rights, I should have been dead several times over, and it was all I could do not to break down and cry. 

I hadn't survived this far only to drop my guard in the middle of this deadly forest after victory was already in my grasp, though. Taking a deep, calming breathe, I stood up with a faint sniffle, and gathered up my belongings. I needed to get a move on. The sun was already halfway up the sky. I picked a few more berries from the orchard to refill my supply before heading out. 

I made good time, keeping up a brisk pace even though I was sore, and my bruises were black and throbbing by that point. The small run-ins I had with the wild pokemon on my way seemed mild in comparison to what I had been through with the Riolu, and the Growlithe. Now that I had a little more experience, they seemed fairly easy to fend off considering they were all fairly low level. I could only pray that I was able to escape notice from any higher level pokemon for the rest of my journey. 

The next time I stopped for the night was about a half day's travel from Aspertia. I also very carefully sprayed the area with repel. It may have been for the best that I had forgotten to spray repel the previous night, because the bottle sputtered out as I just as I finished covering the area. At least I would be protected for my last night out, and I had gotten a second pokemon out of deal. I ate a few of the fresh berries I had picked and my last granola bar before curling up with my bag and closing my eyes.

***

When I reached the gates of Aspertia City in the early afternoon the next day, I was dirty, aching, and thirsty. I'd run out of water early in the morning, and I was starting to sincerely consider that I might have cracked a rib. As soon as I broke from the tree line, I heard calls to open the gate coming from the trainers on guard duty. I was quickly ushered into the Pokemon Center through a set of doors I had never noticed before, that were just past the lounge area. The sign above the doors read 'Infirmary.' A nurse came in and checked my bruises and all the cuts and scrapes I'd acquired over the course of my Trial. It had stung when she disinfected the cuts, but she been able to tell me that none of my ribs were cracked after all. Clyde caught me by surprise when he burst through the doors.

He came to an abrupt halt just inside the door, taking in my state of dishevelment. “We thought for sure we wouldn't be seeing you again. You caught us all by surprise.” He said gravely, before handing me a compact, rectangular device. Like my Xtrantranceiver, it was pale purple. I was beginning to sense a theme. “That's a pokedex. It's able to identify any pokemon you scan with it, and if you scan a pokeball that contains a pokemon, it will tell you all of its information. It also has net capabilities within the city. Now,” he clapped his hands. “Let's register this pokemon to you.” 

I handed him Riolu's pokeball. He took it and placed it in a semicircle shaped dip on the lower half of the device, where it fit perfectly. A laser shot up and scanned the pokeball. “Registering pokeball to Dahlia Moore, E class trainer. Processing... Riolu - the emination pokemon. It has the peculiar power of being able to see emotions such as joy and rage in the form of waves, and uses the shapes of auras, which change according to emotion, to communicate with others. This Riolu is male and has the ability 'inner focus.' Riolu knows the moves: quick attack, endure, foresight, counter, and feint.” 

Clyde's eyebrows raise in surprise. “A Riolu. Never seen one of those for a starter before. No wonder you took your time getting back here.” He gave me a considering look. “The pokedex is also able to rejuvenate a pokemon if you put a pokeball in the slot, like I just showed you, and select the function. You should always go to Nurse Joy for any serious injuries though, and take your pokemon to her regularly for checkups.” He handed the pokedex to me. “Congratulations. You are officially an E class trainer. As an E class trainer, you are allowed one pokemon. Any other pokemon you capture will have to be put in stasis until you reach D rank. We also don't allow E class trainers to take jobs posted on the Aspertia trainer website or in the trainer lounge, but it's easy enough to pass the D rank test. Once you are able to take jobs, you can always take jobs that are your rank, and jobs one rank higher than you so long as you also have a trainer of appropriate rank with you. Any questions?”

I nodded. “Yeah. I caught another pokemon out on my Trial after Riolu, a Growlithe that attacked me. How do I put it in stasis?”

Clyde nodded thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. “It's not exactly common for a trainer to catch two pokemon on their Trial, though it has happened before. What you need to do is register Growlithe's ball with your pokedex the same way I showed you with your Riolu. After it gives you Growlithe's information, it'll automatically send it into a PC box until you're authorized to take it out.” I nodded and did as he said.

“Growlithe – the puppy pokemon. It is very protective of its territory. It will bark and bite to repel intruders from its space. This Growlithe is male and has the ability 'intimidate.' Growlithe knows the moves: roar, ember, leer, odor sleuth, and helping hand.” The pokedex fell silent, and with that, Growlithe's pokeball disappered in a flash of light.

“It's best to feed and interact with all of your pokemon that aren't in stasis daily,” Clyde informed me. “If you can't afford any food yet, you can always take your pokemon outside the gates to hunt. It would be best for you to take the D rank trainer test as soon as you're able to make your pokemon obedient to you, so you can get a handle on your Growlithe. But that can wait for another day. It's almost dark. You've been cleared to head on up to your room. You can keep the knife, but if you want to keep that hunk of metal you picked out, you'll have to arrange to keep it on loan from the Gym until you can pay it off,” he said raising an eyebrow. 

I nodded in reply. “I would like to keep it, please.”

“I'll get the paperwork ready, then.” He rubbed his mouth wearily as he left the room.

I decided to do as Clyde suggested after he left the infirmary. With a final word of thanks and a goodbye to Nurse Joy, I gathered up my bag and staff, heading up to my room. After a nice hot shower, with copious amounts of soap, and a change of clothes, I collapsed onto the soft bed and was out like a light.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning saw me eating breakfast in the cafeteria. I was eating a bowl of cereal that had a few pieces of dried berries floating in it. I had also grabbed a sandwich, planning on saving it for lunch. Despite the food in front of me, though, I was finding it difficult to eat. The thought of having to face the Riolu again today was making me extremely nervous.

“Dahlia!” I heard a voice shout, right before a familiar gangling form crashed into me from behind, squeezing my middle. Pain flared, and I let out a pained hiss.

“Careful, Zach!” I warned. He let go of me light he'd been electrocuted, apologizing profusely. There was a clear look of concern on his face as he took a seat across from me.

“Are you okay?” he queried, his eyes huge as he took in all the scrapes and bruises that covered my arms. I smiled in reassurance.

“I'm a little banged up, but there's nothing serious. What about you?” I asked, giving him a once over. I didn't see any signs of damage, but that didn't mean there wasn't any. He waved me off impatiently.

“I'm fine. What happened to you? You were gone for days! Everybody thought you were dead!” His voice rose a little as he spoke, and I sighed. Clearly I wasn't going to hear anything about his Trial until I'd told him all about mine.

“When I was planning for the Trials, I decided to try to get to the ruins of the old Flocessy Ranch because a pokemon I wanted to try to catch was known for living there before the Cataclysm. The ranch is more than a day away from the city, though, so I wasn't able to come for the night.” I was about to ask about his Trial again, but he cut me off.

“And the pokemon?” he asked. “Did you catch it?”

“Yep. He put up quite the fight, but I was able to catch him.” Zach gave me an expectant look, and I huffed a laugh. “Its a Riolu.” Anticipating the blank look in his eyes, I pulled up the entry in my pokedex to show him. “I wanted to catch one because their evolution, Lucario, is really strong, and they're very loyal if you can gain their trust.” A sly look appeared on Zach's face.

“Bet it didn't hurt that they're so cute,” he grinned delightedly. I dropped my forehead into my palm, shaking my head with a smile. 

“Brat,” I muttered, but I didn't deny it.

“Now what about you?” I insisted. “How did your Trial go?” Content with the information he'd wrung from me about my adventure, he finally obliged me with an answer.

“I finished on the first day. Thanks to the help you gave me, I was able to keep away from any really dangerous pokemon, and a few hours after I went out, I found this little pond and caught a Magikarp.” He smiled somewhat sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. “I named him Riptide, but I've mostly just been calling him Tide.” I smiled warmly.

“That's great Zach. Have you been able to do any training with him yet?” I asked him, curious.

“Yeah, I'm actually going to try to take the D rank test today. In about an hour. Tide was pretty tame from the start, and he listens to me really well now.” 

“Well, good luck,” I said, resting my chin on my hand. There was a moment of contented silence before I thought of something else I wanted to ask. “Do you know how everyone else's Trials are going?”

He nodded, his eyes growing solemn. “Damon finished in the evening on the second day; he already passed the D rank test. And Linda finished on the third day. But Sandra never came back after the second day, and that other guy, Joseph, didn't come back last night.” He gave me a halfhearted smile. 

“Everybody says they're probably dead, but they said that about you, too, and you made it back,” Zach finished. I squeezed his hand where it rested on the table, remembering how scared and distracted Sandra had seemed in the week leading up to the Trials. And trying not to remember the first and last conversation I'd had with Joey right before we parted ways.

“We can only hope,” I murmured, not in particularly hopeful tone of voice.

“Hey,” I said, leaning forward and changing the subject, “since you've already been training Tide, do you think you could show me where the training fields are?” He immediately perked up, gloomy thoughts banished from his mind at the prospect of being helpful.

Thirty minutes later I was standing by myself in an empty training ground. I grabbed Riolu's pokeball and examined it with no small amount of dread. However, I knew that the pokemon might be able to actually see my emotions, and all of my reading had told me that it was never a good idea to show fear to a pokemon. 

I tightened my grip on my staff, took a few deep breaths and calmed myself down a few moments, trying not to psyche myself out. Then I pressed the release button. A beam of red light streamed out, coalescing into the form of the Riolu. The pokemon growled at me, its red eyes glinting angrily as they darted between the pokeball and me. I felt a slight pang of fear before I ruthlessly squashed it. The Riolu's eyes narrowed, and he tilted his head, starting circle around me. I turned to follow his movement, knowing better than to show him my back.

“Hi, Riolu,” I started carefully. The small pokemon tensed warily, coming to a stop. “My name is Dahlia, and I'm a pokemon trainer. I captured you a few days ago.” Riolu glared angrily and dashed toward me all of a sudden. I jerkily blocked him with my staff, tightening my grip on his pokeball, and he stopped immediately, inspecting me with keen eyes. 

“Are you hungry?” I ask him. “I have some berries if you want any,” I said, fishing around in my pockets for the berries I'd stashed for this occasion. Riolu's nose twitched, and he took a step forward at the sight of the berries, before he caught himself. 

“It's okay,” I said. “Here.” I placed a berry on the ground in front of me, keeping careful watch of his movements, before backing away a few steps. He crept towards the berry, keeping a wary eye on me, much the same as I was on him. Then he speedily snatched up the fruit and ate it in two greedy bites. I muffled a quiet giggle with my sleeve, feeling a little hysterical. He startled when he heard it, jerking his head up and yipping at me.

“Sorry,” I told him, regaining control over myself. “Would you like another?” I held the next one up. When his eyes locked onto it, I carefully placed it on the ground between us, and didn't step away this time, though I maintained a firm grip on my metal staff. He was very cautious as he moved to grab the second berry, but clearly too hungry to ignore the food. When he finished it, he stayed in his place, and he was now close enough that if he tried to attack, I wouldn't be quick enough to stop him. He was probably aware of the fact as well, but he didn't attack, looking indecisive. I wasn't really sure what to do next. I eventually decided to just go for it.

“Are you willing to work with me?” I asked him now that he'd calmed down. “As my partner? You'll have to obey my commands, and when you fight, it will be to protect people. I will train with you, and try to help you grow strong enough that you'll evolve Lucario someday.” 

The Riolu looked at me as if he was weighing my soul, and I made sure to meet his gaze. Then he made a somewhat grudging noise of assent and nodded his head. I smiled and let out a sigh of happy relief.

“I have some more berries. Do you want any?” The Riolu nodded, and I retrieved the rest of what I had stashed in my pockets. I sat down cross-legged and held one out for Riolu to grab, and repeated the process each time he finished a berry. By the time he was finally full, there were only a couple left.

“Do you just want me to call you Riolu, or do you want a name?” I decided to ask him. He cocked his head to the side, considering. “I could give you a few options and you can decide after if you want.” He nodded thoughtfully. “Rio, or Luca. Blue,” he gave me a look of disgust at that. “Bruiser,” I mentioned, rubbing my side, “Aura, Spike-” The little blue pokemon snorted disdainfully and held his paw up. “Did you like one of them?” I asked, though judging by his reactions to some of my suggestions, I rather thought not. So I was slightly surprised when he nodded. “Was it Rio?” He shook his head. “Luca?” I queried, and this time he nodded. “Luca it is then. I guess we do have a goal to work towards, don't we?” I said, noting that he'd chosen the shortened version of 'Lucario' that I'd thrown out.

I carefully reached over and began to scratch him lightly behind the ears. He automatically flinched away at first, but then he held completely still. Once he relaxed, he leaned into my hand and made a light rumbling sound in his chest that almost sounded like a purr.

“Are you ready to do a little training now?” Luca nodded and stepped away before taking up a fighting stance and throwing a few mock punches at the air. I let out a startled laugh. It was surprising how much I was growing to like him already, considering the state our relationship had been in only a few hours ago.

“Let's get to it then,” I said, pointing to a wooden post about fifteen feet away from where we stood. “You see that post? I want you to use quick attack on it.” Luca nodded in affirmation and disappeared in a blur of speed, hitting it with a resounding 'thunk' before leaping away. I had him repeat it a few more times, then I nodded. “For now that's the only move you know that you can practice without another pokemon to train with. I'll try to start teaching you a new move tomorrow. For now, we're both going to run around the perimeter of the training field. I want you to try using quick attack to boost your speed as you go. Got it?” Luca nodded, and we both took of running. 

When we reached the edge of the field, Luca began boosting his speed, quickly outpacing me. I continued to run at a speed only slightly faster than a jog, trying to pace myself so that I wouldn't tire out too quickly. Whenever I did get tired, I slowed to a walk until I caught my breath enough to start running again. Luca was able to keep a running pace the whole time, only stopping his use of quick attack once for a few minutes, before continuing. We had kept it up for two hours before I called us to a stop.

“Great job, Luca,” I praised him as he bounced over to me. His eyes brightened and he perked his ears at me as he stood panting. I was panting even harder of course. I then sat us down to eat, giving Luca the last few berries and a small portion of my sandwich. 

“I'm going to return you to your pokeball for now,” I told him once we finished eating, lifting his pokeball, “but I'll let you out soon. I promise. How do you feel about meeting my friend, Zach and his Magikarp, Tide?” He looked a little uneasy, but gave me a nod nonetheless. I scratched his ears again for a moment before returning him to his pokeball. He seemed to like that.

Hours later, after spending some down time at the Center, I headed out to the training field I'd promised to meet Zach at, which was located about a half a mile away. The various training grounds were spread throughout the entirety of District 13, and at one of the fields that I passed on the way, I stopped to watch for a moment. I saw the figure of a trainer with a team of eight pokemon training around him. I could make out a big, snake-like creature, and what I thought was a Scolipede, but the others were too small for me to make out from a distance. 

Zach's chosen training ground contained a large, clear pond, obviously meant for training water pokemon. As I drew closer, I could make out Zach's shaggy brown hair as he crouched next to the pond with a hand in the water.

“Zach,” I called, stopping a few feet away, and he spun around in surprise, losing his balance and landing on his butt in the mud. He looked up at me with an embarrassed grin as he stood up, trying to wipe the mud off his pants, but only succeeded in smearing it.

“Hey, Dahlia!” he exclaimed in delight, his voice cracking a little as he raised his voice. “You made it!” A splashing sound came from the direction of the pond, demanding attention. “Oh! This is Tide,” he introduced, giving his pants up for lost as he knelt down in the mud, petting the scales of the orange Magikarp that was bobbing up and down in the water. “Tide, this is Dahlia.” Tide splashed the water with his fins in response.

“Hello, Tide,” I say with a small smile and a wave at the pokemon. “Is alright to touch him?” I asked Zach, crouching down beside him. When Zach nodded, I placed my hand opposite his on Tide's side and stroked the cool, somewhat slimy scales. The Magikarp gurgled happily in response.

“So how did it go with your Riolu?” Zach asked casually, pretending absolute focus on Tide. The corner of my mouth twitched up in amusement without my permission.

“I think it went really well. I named him Luca. He's very smart.” I smiled at the Magikarp's cheerful antics. “How did your test go?” Zach positively beamed.

“I passed! It actually wasn't too hard,” he stated, looking surprised about it.

“Congratulations.” I gently ruffled his hair, and he seemed torn between leaning in for head scratches and pulling away in indignation. 

“Can I please meet Luca now?” He shook off my hand, his puppy eyes glistening entreatingly. “Pleeease?”

In response, I stood up and backed away a few feet, pulling Luca's pokeball out. Zach appeared to be nearly vibrating in excitement. When I released Luca directly in front of me, the blue pokemon looked around curiously for a second before walking over to me and setting a paw on my leg. He aimed a questioning look in Zach's direction, who was still kneeling in the mud. 

“This is Zach,” I tell Luca. Zach shuffled over until he was right next to us. Luca spares him a short, soul-deep gaze before nodding a greeting. I was glad when Zach didn't try to pet him. The small Riolu seemed to be a fairly reserved pokemon so far, and I didn't want to push too much contact on him until we had more time for trust to grow between us.

“So,” I started, briefly stroking Luca's head before sitting down on the grass. Luca took a seat next to me, and Zach settled himself more comfortably. “How has training with Tide been going for you?” Zach sighed in response to the question.

“Tide is great, but I don't really know how to train him yet,” Zach admits, looking back at Tide, who was happily splashing around in the pond. “He listens to everything I say, but the only moves he knows are splash and tackle.” 

“Luca and I did a little training today after we got to know each other. I had him show me his quick attack a few times, and then I ran laps with him around the training ground. I had him use his quick attack constantly to boost his speed as we went.” I explained to him, thinking hard. “I'm sure you could do something similar with Tide. You could have him practice using splash over and over again and tell him to try to jump higher and higher as he goes. Or could also have him swim laps around the pond as fast as he can, and you can run around with him if you want to do it with him. I don't think attacks are the only things you have to work on when you're training a pokemon. When a human wants to get stronger, we exercise. It's probably the same for pokemon. Though if you want to see whether or not you can expand Tide's move pool, you can try looking it up on one of the databases in the library. They have lists of moves each pokemon can learn naturally or be taught with enough training.” Zach nodded thoughtfully, looking intently at Tide.

We chatted for a little longer about pokemon and possible training tactics before heading back to the pokemon center. Zach went straight up to his room to go to bed, planning to get an early start on his training in the morning. I settled down on one of the love seats in the lounge to read a book I'd borrowed from the library. It gave a good description of how to teach pokemon moves they don't learn naturally. I was quite startled when the weight of another person plopped down on the couch beside me. It turned out to be James, the trainer that had showed me and Joseph to the north gate.

“I heard you made it back alive, miracle girl,” he said cheerily, reaching up to tug on a lock of my straight, shoulder-length black hair. “Stopping hearts and defying expectations all in one.” I push his wrist away with a slight frown.

“Yes,” I answered grudgingly, annoyed by his antics. I decided to try diverting him, like Joey had last time he was bothering me. “Can I ask you a question?” He gave me a sunny smile.

“Ask away.”

“Clyde told me that my second pokemon has to remain in stasis until I pass the D rank test. What can you tell me about it?” He looked at me consideringly. It was a question I did want an answer to, given that I'd somehow neglected to ask Zach.

“One day in as an official trainer and she's already got a second pokemon,” he said, shaking his head. I raised an eyebrow at him, unimpressed. “Alright. Basically, you just have to schedule a meeting with the Gym Leader and show him that your starter will follow your commands. And in case you were wondering, to be eligible to take the C rank test, you need to have two trained pokemon. They both have to show that they are obedient to you, and they have to have learned two moves since you captured them. I won't tell you what the actual test is, but those are the qualifiers.” 

“Thank you,” I said, wondering if Luca would be okay to take the test yet. For a reason that was unfathomable to me, the older boy's grin widened.

“You're smiling!” he points out gleefully. I wasn't sure if I had been smiling, but if I had been, it was certainly gone now. I did feel like I was blushing though. Fortunately for me, my face didn't show color very easily, so it wouldn't be noticeable. To my great relief, before James had the chance to say anything else, he was distracted by the approach of two familiar figures. Linda, who appeared to be pulling a begrudging Damon along behind her.

“Hi, Dahlia!” Linda chirped, pushing Damon down onto the adjacent couch before sitting down next to him. “I know we haven't really spoken much since. . . well, you know, but I figured we rookies should stick together. So, how have you been?” She smiles at me expectantly. I blink slowly.

“I've been well. How have you been?” I return politely.

“Oh, I've been fine. It's been. . . quite sad, with what happened with Joseph and S-sandy,” she stumbled over her friend's name, “but there's really nothing to do but to accept it and move on with our lives,” she soldiers on, looking down sadly before straightening up with renewed cheer. “Anyway, on to happier topics. What pokemon where you able to catch on your Trial? I caught an Audino, and I named her Cindy. Her training has been going quite well I think. Damon here,” she nudged him playfully, and his scowl deepened in response, “caught a Larvitar. What did you name him again?”

“I didn't.” Damon grunted, rolling his eyes. Linda gave a huff of exasperation before turning to me with expectant eyes. I took me several moments to realize that she was waiting for me to speak.

“I caught a Riolu. His name is Luca.”

“Wow, I didn't know you caught a Riolu, Dahlia,” James chimed in, leaning forward in interest. This drew Linda's attention to him.

“Oh, how rude of us. Who is this, Dahlia?” Linda asks.

“James Gracen, age sixteen and B class trainer, at your service,” James supplied with a charming smile, and a pretty pink blush suffused Linda's cheeks. Somehow, it didn't clash with her vibrantly red hair. After a moment, Damon cleared his throat pointedly, snapping her out of her daze.

“Anyway,” Linda said, looking a little flustered, “do you know where Zach is?” She turned her attention to me again.

“He went to bed already. He was planning on getting an early start on training tomorrow.” Linda nodded thoughtfully.

“We'll just have to catch up with him sometime tomorrow.” She turned an uncharacteristically shy glance to James. “As a B class trainer, you must have much more experience with pokemon than we do. What kinds of pokemon do you have?” Even Damon looked interested at this question.

“As a B rank trainer, I have six pokemon slots on my team, and I've filled five of them so far. I have a Serperior, a Scolipede, a Mienshao, an Emolga, and I just caught a Spheal on a recent mission.” From there, Linda proceeded to bombard James several questions, ranging from whether he'd named his pokemon (which he hadn't) to which pokemon he thought were the cutest in the surrounding area. Damon appeared to zone out, and I slipped away unnoticed.

I walked over to the main desk to arrange a meeting with Clyde as soon as possible, since I had decided that Luca was ready to pass the D rank test. I alsowanted to get my Growlithe out of stasis as soon as possible. There were a convenient amount of openings for the very next day. Apparently more experienced trainers tended to keep the Gym Leader's time free for the rookies on the first few weeks after the Reaping. I had just finished speaking with the receptionist when a pair of warm, calloused hands dropped on my shoulders, causing me to jump. I turned around and had to crane my neck up to look at James, who I suddenly realized was much taller than me. His face was more serious than I'd seen it since he dropped me and Joseph off at the North gate.

“I really am glad that you made it back,” he told me. I gave him a hesitant nod, trying for a smile. From the way he chuckled, I assumed it came out weird. He squeezed my shoulder and backed away to give me room to pass by. After doing so, I headed up to my room, trying not to dwell on what a confusing person he was. Upon entering my room, I released Luca, who stretched happily before looking to me for direction.

“This is our room,” I explained to him. “It's where we'll be sleeping every night. I'll keep you out as much as you want while we're here, so long as you don't break anything or make a mess.” With that said, I moved to change into my sleeping clothes. I was just about to put my sleep shirt on, when I was stopped by a light touch on my side. Luca was lightly touching one of his paws to one of the large, mottled bruises on my side, looking vaguely guilty. At that point, the bruises were almost black, with just a hint of yellowing at the edges. They'd caused me quite a bit of grief when I was running that day.

“It's okay,” I told him. “They could have been healed by now, but since they're not life threatening, the nurses left them to heal naturally.” I squeezed his paw lightly before continuing to get dressed for bed. When I crawled into the bed, Luca hesitantly curled up beside me. It was surprisingly easy to drift off to sleep after that, and before I knew it, I was out like a light.


	6. Chapter 6

I woke up around seven the next morning, to the sight of Luca's face hovering directly over my head. A faint squeak escaped my mouth as I flinched back in surprise. Luca startled at my reaction, and tilted his head in confusion. Once I recovered from the surprise, I couldn't help the brief laugh that escaped me.

“Sorry, Luca, you scared me,” I explained breathlessly after gaining control of myself. He nodded, though his face was still portraying a sense of bafflement. I slowly reached out to stroke his ears, and he cautiously leaned into my hand. My appointment to take the D rank test at nine, and needed to get ready, otherwise I would have lingered in my room with Luca for a little while longer. As it was, I made sure to warn Luca about it before I returned him to his pokeball, so he wouldn't be taken off guard. Then I gathered up some clothes and headed to the bathrooms for a shower, before going to the cafeteria to eat breakfast.

When it was time, I met with Clyde in the Gym stadium. The Gym Leader was already waiting when I arrived, his gray and white hair as wild as ever, and his large stature commanding attention. There were several training dummies set up nearby.

“Alright, let's get this started,” he rumbled, without further adieu. “Go ahead and release your pokemon, Missy.” I immediately complied, and Luca soon stood stiffly by my side, waiting for instructions. 

“Good, good,” Clyde said. He crouched down and abruptly shoved his face up close to Luca's, causing the small pokemon to flinch back, though he didn't otherwise react to the invasion of his personal space. I, though, had to quickly tamp down on the surge of ire that developed in the face of Luca's discomfort. The small pokemon's eyes flicked towards me briefly for reassurance, and I smiled and nodded encouragingly. 

“Okay,” Clyde finally says after seeing our exchange, standing. “Go ahead and have him use quick attack on one of those dummies.” He gestured vaguely in their direction. Luca looked at me, and I nodded, pointing at one of the dummies in the middle. 

“Go for that one,” I said. Luca immediately went at it with his quick attack, which was noticeably quicker and harder hitting than it had been than the day before, causing the dummy to splinter. I couldn't help but be impressed by how quickly pokemon were able to grow stronger. 

“Okay, now pick him up,” Clyde said after Luca ran back over to us. I gave the Gym Leader an uncertain look, but followed his order. Though I had worried that it would make him uncomfortable, Luca complied easily when I lifted him up, and I hugged him to my chest like a I would a child. He was heavier than I would have thought. 

“One of the signs of an untrained pokemon is that they lash out at being touched by humans,” Clyde explained. “Looks like you're good to go, though,” he continued, taking a card and a device that looked similar to a pokedex out of his large pockets and swiping the card through a slot in the device after pressing a few buttons. He then handed the card to me.

“This is your official trainer's license. Swipe it at the PC at the Center and you'll be able to get your Growlithe out of stasis. Now get going, I've got another appointment in ten minutes,” he said, waving his hand at us in a shooing motion.

"That's it?" I asked.

A short, "Yep," was his only reply. I was surprised that the test was so short and simple, but I took the hint and left to head back to the Pokemon Center. 

It wasn't until we were about halfway there that I realized that Luca was still in my arms with his arms wrapped around my neck and his chin resting on my shoulder. He seemed very comfortable. I knew that it was okay that he was out so long as I remained in the trainer district, so I let him remain in my arms until we got to the Center, where I returned him to his pokeball and proceeded to retrieve my Growlithe. From there I walked to the same training field we'd occupied the day before and released Luca again.

“I'm going to be letting our other teammate out in just a second,” I told him. “I'm going to have my staff,” I stamped the aforementioned weapon on the ground, “but I would prefer it if you intercepted him before he gets to me if he decides to attack.” Luca nodded and moved closer to me as I took Growlithe's pokeball out. 

Upon being released, the Growlithe released a vicious snarl as his eyes darted around to take in his new surroundings. Immediately identifying Luca and I as threats, he crouched defensively with his hackles up and his ears flat against his head. After a moment of thought, I decided to take a risk, and slowly placed my staff on the ground. This earned me a sharp glance from Luca and the instant attention of Growlithe. He growled again, muscles tensing, but I just slowly lifted my empty hands into the air, trying to show that I meant no harm. 

“Hey, Growlithe,” I spoke as calmly as I could manage, considering the situation. “Do you remember me? I'm the trainer that caught you. My name is Dahlia.” Growlithe's ears rose a little, twisting toward me, but didn't lose his defensive stance. “We're not going to attack you unless you attack us first,” I assured, before gesturing toward Luca. “This is Luca, my first pokemon. You're my second pokemon. I will make sure that you are cared for and do my best to help you grow stronger, but only if you are willing to train with me, Luca, and the pokemon I catch in the future. What do you say?” 

Growlithe tilted his head and slowly eased back into a sitting position, though his muscles remained tensed, ready to move in an instant. He then sent a quiet bark in Luca's direction, which Luca replied to with a few yips, shifting his stance slightly. The Growlithe cocked his head in the other direction, observing both of us with sharp eyes for a few moments. All of a sudden, Growlithe opened his mouth, and it glowed orange with fire. I was caught off guard by the sudden attack, but in a movement so fast I could barely track it, Luca hit him with a quick attack. The striped orange dog was thrown back several feet, but the ember attack he had let loose seconds before the Riolu had intercepted him still headed in my direction. I threw myself to the right, landing gracelessly on the hard ground. The ground where the fire based attack had landed was charred black and smoldering. 

Luca kept a wary eye on the Growlithe as I climbed back to my feet. The Growlithe began to circle around us, much as Luca had done to me that first time, before I'd talked him around. Turning to keep him away from my back, I carefully retrieved my staff, and Luca retreated to my side. Both of us held ready positions, waiting for his next move. There was a high amount of tension in the air, and we were both suitably surprised when the Growlithe suddenly bowed with a playful doggy grin, his butt high and his fluffy stub of a tail wagging furiously. The aura of intimidation that had surrounded the puppy pokemon had completely vanished.

Luca and I were both frozen in suspicion, but he only flopped onto his side in an obviously nonthreatening manner. I moved toward him after a moment of deliberation, though not without a tight grip on my staff. Luca attached himself to my side as I stepped forward, and he gave the Growlithe a short growl of warning when we approached. I crouched next to him and slowly placed my right had on the soft fur of his side. He watched me with alert black eyes. Then he let out piteous whine and writhed on his back in a ridiculous manner, drawing a startled laugh from my lips. When I started scratching his belly, his tongue lolled happily, and one of his hind legs twitched occasionally when I hit a good spot. It was a few minutes before I let up, and when I did, he scrambled up and nudged my hand with him cold, wet nose. I smiled happily as I pet his head, scratching behind his ears briefly. I motioned Luca over, who had been standing tensely off to the side, and placed a hand gently against his back.

"You were testing us, weren't you?" I murmured. "To see how we would react?" The only answer I received was a panting grin, but I didn't miss the quick flash of insight in his eyes. I wondered what he would have done if we had reacted in a way he saw as weak, or unworthy. But I supposed it didn't matter in the end.

“Would you like me to give you a name?” I asked the striped pokemon, and he gave a bark and a wag of his tail in affirmation, no hint of hesitation. I gave a thoughtful hum. “I'll list off a few, and you can bark if you like one,” I told him. “Stipe, Flare, um, Fang . . . Scout, Sampson, Ari -” There was no reaction until I said the last one. “Ari?” I asked, and was met with a series of happy barks. I laughed. “Ari it is then.” 

We stayed on the ground, Luca leaning against my side, still keeping a somewhat wary eye on Ari, and Ari laying down with his head in my lap while I stoked his ears. After a few minutes, Luca seemed to relax, before shifting to get my attention. He looked at me, then gestured to where my staff lay discarded on the ground once more.

“I don't know what you're trying to say,” I admitted with regret after several seconds had passed. It took a quite few more tries before I understood that he was trying to ask why I had abandoned my staff near the beginning of our encounter with Ari.

“I know that this is all pretty new for all of us,” I started, trying to find the words to describe the reason behind my impulsive decision. “But eventually, when we start to gain more experience, I'm going to have to trust you, the both of you, with my life. Completely. We're going to be fighting against other pokemon, and pokemon will always be a stronger than humans. You guys have seen that, right?” I glanced at the two of them. They were both paying close attention to my words with serious countenances, and nodded at my question. “That's not to say I'm not going to try my best to become stronger alongside you, but if I can't trust you to protect me out there, I will die. That's why I put my staff down,” I said, looking into Luca's eyes with a smile. “I do trust you, you know. And I was right. Still, I promise that I won't let my guard down like that again. Just because I have you guys to help me out doesn't mean I shouldn't be trying my best as well,” I finished my little speech in a lighter tone of voice.

I stood up, dusting the dirt and grass off of my pants, along with the somber mood. “Are you guys okay to train for a while?” After they responded positively, I soon had Ari set to firing embers into the sky, with instructions to try to make his fire as hot as possible and to hold it as long as he could. I then took Luca a few meters away to work on teaching him force palm next to one of the training posts.

“From what I've read, for this attack you need to focus your fighting energy into your paw until it glows with the energy. From there it's just a matter of hitting your target. For now just try to find that energy. Once you do, try directing it to your paw. I'm going to train with Ari for now, but let me know when you manage it.” Luca nodded and held his paw up in front of him, a look of concentration on his face. I stroke his head briefly, then leave him to it.

I walked over to Ari and called his training on ember to a stop after watching for a few minutes, and he trotted over to me with his tongue lolling out the side his mouth. From there I tested him on tracking, using odor sleuth. I had him close his eyes while I held up an object for him to scent, then hid it somewhere on the field before I allowed him to open his eyes and search for it by scent. After the first few times, I tried using tactics I'd read about to throw him subtly off the scent until he'd wised up to it. 

He did very well for a little over than two hours, having no little amount of fun, when we were interrupted by Luca's success. His paw lit up so brightly that it wasn't necessary for him to tell me that he'd succeeded. I rushed over, Ari close on my heels as the light died down. Full to bursting with excitement and pride, I immediately knelt down next to him and pulled him into a tight hug. When I pulled away he looked slightly abashed at the attention.

“Great job, Luca,” I told him with pride in my voice. “Go ahead and do it one more time, and this time hit the training post with it.” It took him a few seconds, but soon enough the light formed from his palm and he ran forward. When it hit the post, the force of the hit splintered it, though I noticed that a lot of the light from the attack streamed out to the sides. I asked him to try to focus the energy as much as possible in a forward direction, toward the target. It took him a few more tries, but when he finally succeeded, the training post had been completely destroyed. 

After that, I decided that we do about another hour of training before calling it quits. I told Ari to use helping hand on Luca for as long and a often as possible, which caused him to glow slightly with the boost in power. Then I had Luca use counter while I attacked him with my staff. He would catch my blows with his arms, and his use of counter would cause my blows to ricochet off with more than twice the force. I fell down a lot in the beginning, in my attempt to avoid being hit with my own staff, but soon got the hang of flowing with the backlash and spinning with the blows. This was an idea I had been playing with since I'd learned their move sets. It would allow for the training of both pokemon simultaneously, while also training myself. 

By the time I called a stop to training for the day, I was already starting to feel sore, but I needed to take Luca and Ari hunting outside the walls. I had some money saved up from helping my parents around the farm that I'd cashed and kept with me on the day I'd volunteered, but I didn't want to dip into it unless I absolutely had to. I was hoping to be able to survive on the money I earned on missions and save the rest. Hunting would keep my pokemon fed, help us all gain experience fighting other pokemon, and save money.

I decided to exit the city through the East gate, despite the fact that it was the furthest away and I had to take the train to get there. While I was on the train, I had plenty of space even though it was crowded. Since the clothing I was wearing had the league emblem emblazoned in various places, as was required for trainers, everyone gave me a wide berth. Civilians were simultaneously respectful and fearful of trainers, and most of them didn't want to interact with trainers beyond what was absolutely necessary for their safety.

Once I passed through the gate, I released Luca and Ari from their balls, and soon they were on the prowl. Ari used Odor Sleuth to track down a flock of Pidove. As could be expected, most of the Pidove flew away at the first sign of danger, but Luca and Ari only needed to isolate and take down two of the flock. I had wanted to look away from the bloody scene as they were feeding, but forced myself to watch. I would need to get used to it sooner or later during my career as a trainer, so I sucked it up and dwelled instead on how proud I was of the excellent teamwork my pokemon had shown.

After they had eaten their fill, we stayed out for awhile. I had Ari and Luca practice fighting against the wild pokemon in the area, up until we ran into an extremely powerful Liepard that Luca and Ari weren't able to fight off even together. Luca was able to do some damage with his force palm due to the type advantage fighting types had against dark types, but the Liepard was strong, and the damage wasn't enough. In the end, I had to tell Ari to use roar to drive the Liepard away. Roar was a sound based move that projected a loud, fearsome roar at the opposing pokemon, be they alone or in a group. It worked by instilling an instinctual, mind-numbing terror that caused them to flee in fear for their lives. Because the fear instilled my the move was completely irrational, it didn't matter if the enemy pokemon knew, logically, that the pokemon using roar was weaker than them. I thought the move would prove to be extremely useful for getting out of tight situations with stronger wild pokemon, especially because it could effect multiple opponents, but wouldn't effect anyone that Ari didn't specifically direct it towards. 

I decided to call it quits after the tiring battle against the Liepard, and was soon on my way back to the Pokemon Center. The trip back felt much longer than the trip out had. It had been a long, physically exhausting day, and I barely stopped myself from dozing off a few times on the train. The walk back to the Center from the train stop helped to wake me up though.

“Hello! What can I do for you?” Nurse Joy chirped as I approached the front desk. I set my two pokeballs down on the counter.

“I just wanted to get my pokemon healed?” I queried, a little unsure of the process. Nurse Joy lit up and grabbed the pokeballs.

“Absolutely. It will take just about three minutes at most,” she said as she slotted them into a tray that slid into the machine behind the counter. It looked like it could hold up to ten pokeballs at a time. “You're one of the new trainers, correct? Do you want to schedule their first checkup?”

“I would, thank you. What times are available for an appointment?” I asked. I was glad she had reminded me. The trainer manual had mentioned it, but I had completely forgotten until she asked.

“Just let us know what time works best for you. Most of the appointment slots are left open for new trainers for the month after the Reaping.” She smiled kindly.

“Is nine o'clock tomorrow okay?” Nurse Joy nodded.

“Just be sure to schedule their checkup at least a week in advance going forward.” With that we subsided into silence while we waited for my pokemon to finish being restored to full health. A belt with a long row of pokeballs was dropped unceremoniously onto the counter, interrupting the quiet moment.

“Eight up next for healing,” a woman with short, dark purple hair said, the owner of the aforementioned pokeballs. She leaned languidly against the counter. “You must be one of the newbies. The names Amora Ruthven.” Her voice was low and a little gravelly.

“I'm Dahlia Moore,” I told her in reply. Her eyes flicked toward Nurse Joy's machine, which was still running.

“Two pokemon already, huh? Looks like we've gotten some actual talent this year. I heard that last kid came stumbling out of the mountains at the west gate a few hours ago, so five out of six passed their Trials this year, and all in the first week too.” My head jerked up, and I opened my mouth to question her, but I was stopped by the 'ding' that signaled that the machine finished. “Not bad,” she continued, seeming oblivious to my shock. Nurse Joy handed my pokeballs back to me. “I guess I'll be seeing you around.” As the nurse loaded her pokeballs into the machine, she walked away. “I'll be back in ten minutes,” she called over her shoulder to Nurse Joy, and I turned back to face the counter.

“Is that true? That someone else made it back?” The nurse nodded in reply.

“About two hours ago. I didn't realize you hadn't heard yet, or I would have told you. If you want to find out more, you should probably go to the infirmary.” I thanked her, then immediately headed in the direction of the infirmary, not wanting to waste time.

“Dahlia!” Linda exclaimed as soon I stepped into the waiting room, halting in her circuit around the room. “We were wondering if you were ever going to show up! Where were you?” It looked like all of the other surviving rookie trainers had beat me here. I was just glad that I hadn't shown up awkwardly late while everyone else was already in the recovery room.

“I was out with my pokemon all day. I didn't hear the news until after I got back,” I explained. Apparently satisfied with the answer, Linda resumed pacing. There was only one seat left on the single bench, in between Zach and Damon. I had a brief internal debate, before taking it with a sigh. I'd been standing all day, after all. Zach scooted over a little to give me more room, smiling at me in relief. Damon merely rolled his eyes with a sigh.

“She's crazy; she's been doing this the entire time,” Damon complained from where he was slumped against the wall. He didn't seem to care one way or the other about my sitting next to him.

“I heard that!” Linda snapped at him as she passed by. He only rolled his eyes again, unfazed by her tone. I noticed that Zach was looking worried though, so I amicably bumped shoulders with him. 

He smiled at me, whispering, “Clyde went in ten minutes ago. I think she's getting impatient,” before looking self-consciously across the room at Linda, as if fearing that she could somehow hear him. To be fair, it wasn't outside the realm of possibilities. The room was a fairly small one. It was only seconds later that a doctor walked through the door to the recovery room, followed by Clyde. The Gym Leader stepped away from the door and motioned us toward it with a flourish.

“Have at it,” he said. That was all the invitation Linda needed. With a squeal of excitement, she lunged across the room and grabbed both boys by the wrist, dragging them along with her. Damon complained the whole time, while Zach blushed and stammered. I followed at a more sedate pace, entering the room several seconds after the others. I recognized it as the same one I had been in when I'd returned from my Trial. I was glad I hadn't had to stay for more than an hour, otherwise I might have been welcomed back in a similar manner. Linda and the boys had come to a complete stop in front of the doorway. I had to edge out from behind them. 

Joey was laying on the bed, propped up by pillows. His left arm and leg were both in cast, and he was covered in a multitude of scrapes and bruises. Still, he was smiling broadly at us. While the others stood as if frozen, I took the opportunity to steal the only chair, which was to the right of his bed side. Our parting in the forest had left a bigger impact on me than I ever would have expected, and I was immeasurably relieved to see him back, despite his admittedly rough condition. Everyone, though glad to see each other, seemed too overwhelmed to break the silence.

“Took you long enough,” I said finally, going for a teasing tone of voice. It came out a little choked up though. He laughed, and it seemed to break the ice. The others all streamed forward. Zach hovered uncertainly just behind my left shoulder, and Damon came up at bumped fists with Joey's good hand. Meanwhile, Linda alternately chattered at him and asked questions. 

“What kind of pokemon did you get?” Zach finally burst out, asking the question we all wanted to know the answer to. Joey looked down at the pokeball he'd been fingering, before looking up with a fierce grin and a gleam in his dark blue eyes.

“I caught a Skarmory.”

***

Later in the evening found me staring at my Xtranceiver, which I'd caught my self doing fairly often since I passed my Trial. Finally, I decided to bite the bullet and entered the number, knowing that they would all be home at this time. It rang only twice before my mother's face appeared. When she saw me, she covered her mouth with hands, tears covering her eyes in a shiny film.

“Dahlia,” she said in a choked gasp. “Why didn't you call sooner? We worried you were dead.” I instantly felt guilty, having forgotten that they would have no way of knowing that I was alive unless I told them. 

I'd been nervous, though. Trainers generally didn't have contact with people outside of other trainers after their names are called. Families are often intimidated by their new status and fall out of communication with them. On top of that, it was left to the trainers to make the decision to get in contact, and Gym only informed the families of a death after a month had passed without contact from the trainer. My attention was brought back to the call when I heard my mom call for my dad and Beck. Their faces soon appeared beside my mom's.

“Dahlia!” Beck exclaimed, leaning forward in his wheelchair. “You're okay! How long did your Trial take? What pokemon did you catch?” 

“My trial took about four days,” I answered. “I've caught a Riolu and a Growlithe so far.” Beck was extremely excited hear that, and I soon fell into the comfortable rhythm of chatting back and forth with my family. Beck asked a multitude of questions, with my parents, mostly my mom, chiming in occasionally. My dad didn't say much, but if he'd had a problem, he would have said so. Quiet was just his way. Mom always said I'd inherited that from him. Our conversation only ended once my mom and Beck extracted a promise from me that I would visit soon.

I was lucky to have such an understanding family. Before the start of the Trials, Zach had confided to me that he was an only child, with parents that had always been more concerned with their work than him. He had tried to call them once before his Trial, and they hadn't answered. When we had all been visiting Joey, I had learned that Damon's mother had died when he was young, and he'd casually mentioned that he and his 'old man' didn't get along, as if it didn't bother him. I'd inferred that Linda's family, while they hadn't outright said anything, where treating her with considerably less warmth than they used to; even the little brother she'd volunteered to protect. Joey himself, was an orphan. His one remaining family member, a little sister name Sarah, was now living by herself at the orphanage, and he'd stated the intention to send money to her once he was able to take missions.

Linda seemed to be intent on molding us into a new family for each other. I was inclined to let her, and it looked like the others were, too, no matter how begrudging Damon acted about it. We had all gotten along very well earlier, keeping a good conversation flowing for hours after Joey's revelation, and had been surprised to find myself contributing to it quite a bit. I had always been a bit of a loner, and for the first time in my life, I found myself looking forward to spending more time with people outside of my family. I had found some friends were I least expected, when I had never really had any before.

That night, after I let my pokemon out and got us all ready for bed, I ended up with Luca hugged comfortably to my chest and Ari warming my feet, and I was filled with a warm flush of pleasure. I was already growing to love my pokemon, and they seemed to at least respect me in return. I slowly drifted into a sleep that was filled with pleasant dreams.


	7. Chapter 7

The next day, I decided that it was about time for me to take a look at what kind of missions were available for me to take. In order to do so, I could choose to either look at the mission fliers posted on the board, which mostly consisted of jobs that needed to be taken urgently due to a deadline, or look on the mission database, which was accessible by any computer in the Center. It was also available in a limited capacity on my pokedex. I chose to browse the database in the computer room, which allowed me to narrow down the options by running a query for D rank missions that I could actually take only. There were a lot more trainers hanging around every area of the Center than there had been up to that point, a few of them with pokemon out. It was interesting to see the variety of pokemon other trainers had, and the way they all interacted. 

A large majority of the jobs available involved patrolling or guard duty for the wall and gates, as well as a variety of areas within the city that tended to attract wild pokemon. Most other D rank jobs were requests for a pokemon with a specific move to help with a task; for example, there was one request for pokemon that knew the grass moves stun spore and sleep powder to help replenish the store of the spores they used to make tranquilizers. For myself, I decided to take a turn on guard duty. I signed up for a shift at the south gate that evening, and when that was done, I decided that it was high time that I went to visit my family.

After introducing my pokemon to Nurse Joy and dropping them off for their appointment, I found myself on a train again, and was once more given a wide berth and more than my fair share of stares on the train. I was starting to get used to it, but the trip felt like it lasted forever. The stop nearest my families house couldn't come soon enough, and when we finally reached it, I eagerly disembarked, walking the rest of the way.

My mother and father both worked on the farms of District 11, which was one of the largest districts, and was occupied completely by farmland. Not the highest paying of jobs, but with both of them working, they were able to afford a comfortable house in District 8, which was a lower-middle class district. I arrived in the district at nine thirty in the morning, and the walk from the train station only took around five minutes, which felt like no time at all as I approached my childhood home. The white painted door flew open before I could even make it up the porch.

“Dahlia!” my mom shouted, throwing her arms around me. I stumbled under the unexpected weight, but quickly adjusted. My arms automatically wrapped around her in return. The scent of her soft, floral perfume filled my nose, and her curly brown hair tickled my face as I relaxed completely into the hug.

“Aren't you going to let her in?” my father's rich, baritone voice queried. I looked up to find him leaning against the doorway with a smile playing on his lips. He was a tall man, enough that he had to slouch through doorways or risk beaming his head. I'd inherited my pin straight black hair from him, though his was peppered with gray, and where my skin was milky white, his was darkly tanned from years of working under the harsh sun. His slate gray eyes glowed with gentle humor. My mother loosened her hold in order to turn a playful scowl on him.

“Of course I was! Can't a mother greet her daughter in peace? Without all the critics chiming in?” she exclaimed, even as she guided me up the ramp with an arm around my waist. 

“If she weren't also preventing a father from greeting his daughter,” he replied, stealing a hug from me when she turned to close the door. She huffed in reluctant amusement.

“We'd best not keep her any longer, though. Beck is waiting in the living room,” my mom informed me. Without further adieu, I was escorted to the room in question, where I was met with an excited welcome and a smile that lit up the entire room. 

“Lia-Lee!” he cried, a nickname that had survived from when he was just learning to talk, and couldn't pronounce my name properly. He opened his arms and leaned forward in his wheelchair to ask for a hug. I happily obliged. “I missed you,” he confided quietly in my ear. Out of the corner of my eye I could see my mother holding her chin and looking at us with suspiciously watery eyes, but then my dad pulled her away to give me and Beck some privacy.

“I missed you, too,” I whispered back, smiling a little sadly. “How have things been?” I leaned back, and released me from the hug, though he kept a hold on one of my hands.

“Pretty good,” he beamed. “Remember my project for the science fair? I won first place!” the hand not holding mine waved animatedly. The science fair had been an event that his school had decided to hold as a big event during the summer break for the first time this year. It had taken place smack in the middle of my Trial.

“Wow,” I said, honestly impressed. Beck went to Aspertia's most prestigious school on a full scholarship, so he had been competing with the smartest kids in the city. Most of them where older than him, too, due to the fact that he'd skipped a couple of grades. “Was there a prize?” He nodded enthusiastically.

“I won a really cool laptop computer, and a tour of the GenTech science labs,” he said proudly. I squeezed his hand and reached up to ruffle his brown curls with my other hand. He pouted, swatting my hands away and patting his hair back into place, causing me to laugh.

“Good job. I'm proud of you,” I told him once I caught my breath. He blushed and smiled in equal measure at the praise. He really deserved it though. His project had been to build his own pair of teleportation pads that could send inorganic materials back and forth between them. While not on the level of the teleportation pads that could transport human beings for short distances, it was beyond impressive for a twelve year old boy. After a few moments, his mood seemed to change and his expression became melancholy. 

“Dahlia?” he questioned hesitantly. “Why did you volunteer?” I felt my body tense slightly at the new topic. I had known that he would probably ask, but knowing didn't prepare me for the actual question. It was made harder by the fact that this would have been his first Reaping if it weren't for the pokemon attack that had paralyzed him. The only good thing to come of it was that it made him exempt from the drawing. While I felt confident in my choice to be a trainer, it was something I would never want forced on my little brother. I set my free hand on the large wheel of his chair.

“Do you remember when this happened?” He nodded solemnly at my question. “I wasn't there that day, but I always wished that I could have somehow protected you. But I know that even if I had been there, I wouldn't have even been able to do anything. This is my way of making sure that if anything like that ever happens again, I'll be strong enough to protect you,” I said, “and mom and dad, and Thea. Besides,” I continued, “remember all of the research we've done on pokemon? All of the fun little facts we've learned over the years made me think that it could actually be pretty fun, and it is.” He tilted his head in surprise. “It's still very scary and dangerous sometimes, but I've had a lot of fun with the pokemon I've caught so far. I even made friends with other trainers.” He looked conflicted for a few seconds, before conceding with sighed smile and a squeeze of my hand.

“All of this might be worth it for that alone,” my mother teased as she entered the room with a tray of my favorite razz berry tarts. “We were starting to think you were never going to talk to anyone outside the family.” 

The next hour was spent munching on my mom's delicious tarts and catching up. Beck took the opportunity to quiz me on everything I'd done and seen in my short time as a pokemon trainer. After a while, though, my mom went into the kitchen to start on the dishes, and I followed to give her a hand. We quickly settled into the familiar rhythm of her washing while I dried and put the dishes away. Dad and Beck where watching TV. It was me who broke the silence after several minutes.

“Thea?” was all I said. She sighed.

“Your sister -” she started, but broke off and shook her head. I gave her a sad smile, but nodded my head in understanding. I had been expecting it, though it still hurt. It was another few minutes before Mom spoke again, changing the topic.

“Beck's school is talking to us about bumping him up another grade,” she told me. I paused and gave her my full attention. “He doesn't know, but you know he'd be all for it if he did.” I nodded in agreement, resuming my task. “Your father and I aren't so sure about it though. He's already younger than all of his classmates, and we don't want him to have to grow up too fast. He's a twelve year old and already in tenth grade for goodness sake.” She handed me the last plate and set about draining the sink. “Any thoughts?” I contemplated for a moment.

“I think you should keep him back. While he's definitely smart enough to go up another grade, he's still being challenged enough were he is right now. And you know as well as I do that as soon as he graduates high school, every college of technology in the region is going to want to get their hands on him. It won't hurt if he's a little older when that happens.” I put the plate in the cupboard and close the door. “It isn't really up to me, though, and I think you should tell him about it before you do anything. Even if you decide not to go for it, he'll be angry that you didn't tell him if finds out.” 

I had to leave soon after that, wanting to spend some time training with my pokemon before my first mission. We all ended up back in the living room to say our goodbyes. There was a round of hugs and loving well-wishes. Just as I was about to leave, my mom stopped me with a hand on my shoulder. My father retrieved something from the hallway, and presented it to me with a smile. It was a brown leather jacket with two buttoned pockets at the breasts and two more at the shoulders. There was even an outline of a pokeball carefully stitched onto the back so that it wouldn't break regulation.

“We wanted to get you something that would help you on your way to becoming a top pokemon trainer.” My father wore a serious expression on his face as he spoke. “We all had a hand in picking it out. This jacket is the sturdiest we could find. It will hopefully provide some level of protection against physical harm, and we know that you get cold easily.” I took the offered jacket and quickly shrugged it on. It was a perfect fit. After a moment of consideration, I stood on my tiptoes to wrap my arms around my dad's neck. In quick succession, I gave my mother and Beck another hug too.

“Thank you,” I told them sincerely. “I love you all,” I made sure to say as I was leaving, then I headed back toward the train station. I looked back one last time as I walked down the street, to the sight of my parents standing on the porch. My father was standing behind my mom, holding her, and they both reached up to wave when they saw me looking. I waved back before continuing on my way.

Back at the Center, I was pleased to learn that my pokemon's checkups had gone well. They were both in excellent health, and they'd been well behaved, according to the nurse. As soon as I'd retrieved their pokeballs from Nurse Joy, I headed to what was quickly becoming my regular training ground and released my pokemon. Luca placed a hand on my leg in greeting, while Ari cavorted about humorously, before coming up to beg for pets. I sat down on the grass for a while to spend some quality time with them. Luca climbed onto my lap shortly after I sat down, carefully adjusting his tail before leaning back against my chest, and I gently rubbed his belly, which he seemed to enjoy. For Ari I grabbed a frisbee from my bag that I'd retrieved from my room at home while I was visiting. He seemed to have a lot of fun chasing it. After the first few tosses, he challenged himself by trying to snatch it out of the air before it landed, which was actually great for his speed and coordination. When he was tired with catching the flying disc, he plopped down at my side, panting heavily in the heat, and I gently stroked his ears. After a further ten minutes of relaxation, in which Ari seemed to fall asleep, I pulled out my pokedex, getting down to business.

Utilizing the pokedex's information on my pokemon's species, I went over all of the moves they were able to learn naturally with them, and showed them pictures of select moves in use. From there I informed them that I wanted to get Luca started on learning screech, and Ari on bite, going over the videos of the moves in question again. I also gave them an explanation of what I knew about how the moves worked and what kind of energy they should feel for. They both payed rapt attention to my words.

Despite never having used a dark type move before, Ari had bite down within ten minutes, likely due to his species' predilection for biting. He took great joy in splintering the wooden posts with the move. I made the decision to move him on to learning flame wheel soon after, in order to avoid the destruction of every post in the training field. The talented fire pokemon quickly got a good start on that as well, only having trouble with the larger volume of flames he was required to produce to make the flame wheel work. In the meantime, Luca made great progress in learning screech. The both of them had their new moves almost completely down by the time I concluded training for the day, and I had just enough time for a trip to the Center to refresh my pokemon before I had to head out for the mission I'd signed up for.

I walked up to the guard post at the south gate with three minutes to spare, and was immediately greeted by a modest looking woman, who appeared to be around ten years older than I was. She turned out to be a C class trainer who had signed up to supervise the south guard post for the day. The job was fairly simple. If we spotted any pokemon that made it over the walls – mainly bird pokemon flying over – we needed to report their type and general direction to the control desk over the radio, who would relay the message to any patrols in that area to be on the lookout. If we saw any pokemon in the area surrounding the gate, we could choose to go down and battle them, but it wasn't necessary for the job. 

I found myself bored out of my mind for nearly the entire three hour shift. The only saving grace was that I could let my pokemon out to keep me company. Only one wild pokemon approached in that time, a Purrloin that Ari made quick work of with an ember and a nearly perfected flame wheel. The experience did get me thinking though. 

While the Purrloin had been the only pokemon to approach on the ground, there had been several instances of bird type pokemon flying overhead that we'd had to report. I felt that some of them would have been close enough for my pokemon to take down if they'd had the right moves, and I resolved to do some further thinking on the topic. 

It was just after seven o'clock by the time I made it back to the Pokemon Center. I decided to pay a visit to Joey's room before visiting hours were over. Fortunately he was both awake and alone when I arrived, and he noticeably perked up at my entrance. 

“Dahlia! Where have you been?” he exclaimed. “The others all came and left ages ago.” I gave a wry smile as I took a seat next to his bed.

“I highly doubt it's been that long,” I replied as I looked him over. While he was still heavily bandaged, his casts had been removed, so he appeared to be well on his way to recovery. No doubt thanks to the miracles of modern day medicine. “I was visiting my family this morning, training in the afternoon, and then I just got back from my first mission,” I explained. 

He nodded thoughtfully. “I guess I'll accept that excuse,” he said with a straight face, before breaking into a grin. I rolled my eyes in exasperation, but smiled back at him nonetheless. 

“How are you feeling?” 

“I'm great!” he said. “The doc says I'll be outta here by evening tomorrow.” It looked like he was very nearly vibrating in place. “I can't wait to start training my Skarmory!” 

“Speaking of your Skarmory,” I start, undeniably curious, “how did you catch it?” Skarmory, like most single stage and evolved pokemon, where notoriously difficult to catch without severely weakening them first. Joey grew quiet at my question, and remained so for several moments. I was about to withdraw the question when he finally spoke.

“I didn't want to tell the others when they asked, but Zach and Linda told me about your Trial. You were out there for days, all by yourself, and you ended up with two pokemon. Everyone, me included, thought you were a goner when you didn't come back those first nights. You must have had a real tough time of it out there. ” He looked at me in question, and I nodded, thinking back to the multiple times that I'd had a close brush with death. “A couple hours after I decided to try my luck in the mountains that last day, a Skarmory started following me. I only noticed it when it attacked me the first time. I was able to get away without any major injuries the first couple of times, but she always found me again. Eventually, she ended up driving me right over the edge of a cliff. That's how I broke my arm and leg. 

“I sprayed repel every time she came back until I ran out, and after that I managed to throw a pokeball at her. She broke out of course, but I think it scared her a little because she stayed away for awhile after that. I don't know why, but she only watched me the next few times she came back, and the next time I threw a pokeball at her... she let me catch her. I still don't know why.” He looked down, studying the scrapes on his hands, then looked me in the eye. “I didn't want to tell the others because I didn't want them to be scared. They all were able to catch their first pokemon without a whole lot of trouble, so they don't get it yet.” I nodded in understanding, and he smiled in relief.

“I didn't tell them the details of my Trial either,” I confided. “The pokemon I caught are a Riolu that I named Luca, and a Growlithe I named Ari. It was my plan all along to head to the old Floccesy Ranch and catch a Riolu. Their evolution line is strong, and they're supposed to be able to see emotions in people's auras. I hoped that would help me develop a strong bond with my first pokemon if I managed it,” I explained. “I had a few close calls at first, but nothing too terrible until I found the ranch.” I looked down in remembrance. “I didn't even see him before he attacked me. I got separated from my bag, and I had to fight him off. He really would have killed me. It was pure luck that I fell next to my bag, and that the pokeball I threw worked on the first try.” I scoffed at myself when I thought of the next part.

“ I was so tired that I forgot to spray repel that night, and my Growlithe, Ari, came sniffing around for the berries in my bag. I had to use two pokeballs trying to catch him, and if my last pokeball didn't work, he would have killed me too.

“Luca, my Riolu, was pretty reasonable when I first let him out. It was scary, but nothing bad really happened, and we got along pretty much immediately. But Ari . . . When I was trying to tame him, he wanted to test us before he was willing to accept us, and if I'd been just a little bit slower, I would have gotten hurt.” I fingered the two pokeballs that rested in my holster belt contemplatively, shaking off the dark thoughts. 

“We're all friends now, though.” I looked at Joey with a bright smile. “Once you earn their respect, we all get along fine. Maybe that's why Skarmory let you catch her. You survived multiple attacks and never gave up on surviving to the end. I know that took a great deal of strength. Maybe she respected that.” Joey looked thoughtful as he digested what I had told him.

“Can I meet them?” he asked. “Since you've already tamed them.” I looked him in surprise, turning the idea over in my head. I trusted my pokemon to be obedient, and who was I to deny an opportunity to get them used to being around other people. In two beams of light, my pokemon materialized in the room. Ari was on me in an instant, begging to be petted, while Luca patiently waited his turn. As soon as he really took in his new surroundings, though, Ari began cautiously eyeing the only other person in the room. Noticing that his hackles were beginning to rise, I quickly stepped in.

“Ari, Luca, this is Joey. He's a friend, and I want you to be nice,” I told them, looking pointedly at Ari. He wagged his tail sheepishly, and curiously sniffed at Joey's offered hand, licking it in acceptance before butting it with his head, desiring to be pet and not caring who it came from. While Ari was otherwise occupied, Luca climbed sideways into my lap and contentedly rested the side of his head against my chest. He watched Joey and Ari's interaction with keen eyes, though they closed briefly when I started to scratch behind his ears. 

It was getting late by the time I returned to my room for the the night, but I did a little over an hour of studying on the moves my pokemon could learn, not yet ready to sleep. I found videos of the moves I wanted them to start on next and showed them to Ari and Luca. Eventually, when I got tired, I did a little grooming for my pokemon and readied myself for bed. As we piled on my bed, a comforting thought occurred to me in that halfway place between sleeping and waking. If Joey and his Skarmory got along half as well as he and Ari seemed to, they would be just fine.


	8. Chapter 8

A week and several missions later found me and the other five rookies ensconced at the training grounds where I had first met up with Zach. We were there, of all things, for a picnic. Linda had started lecture us recently about how we all needed to do something together. Surprisingly enough, it had been Joey who suggested having a picnic. It would be a good way for all of to hang out, and would allow us all to meet each others pokemon, which I was admittedly curious about. Zach's Magikarp, Tide was still the only other pokemon belonging to the group that I'd met so far. 

All of us had taken at least two missions, so we could afford to pay for all of the ingredients for food. We had been granted access to the Center's kitchen in order to put it all together. Joey and Zach had stumbled their way through making all of the sandwiches, while Linda made some fairly simple chocolate chip cookies, and I put together a berry salad, based off of one of my mother's recipes. Damon had gotten out of helping with the preparations by informing us that he would provide the pokemon food, mostly to pacify Linda. We settled our large picnic blanket as close to the pond as we could without getting it muddy, out of consideration for Zach's lone water bound pokemon.

I was the first to release my pokemon, always eager to spend time with them. I had told them beforehand what was going on, so they knew that none of the new people they'd be meeting were a threat. Zach hurried over to the pond to release Tide, while Linda released her Audino, who was named Cindy. Damon gave his signature eye roll, but released Larvitar nonetheless. After taking a moment to review his surroundings, Luca sat down next to me, and I stroked his long ears in greeting. Ari was bounding around greeting everybody in an instant, though he paid Joey extra attention, remembering him from before. Linda's Audino also greeted everyone cheerfully, though in a much less energetic manner. Larvitar remained at his trainer's side, stoic. They seemed quite well suited to each other. With the introductions out of the way, though, everyone turned to Joey.

“Aren't you going to let your Skarmory out, Joey?” Linda asked, cocking her head. It had taken several days of working with his pokemon before Joey had felt confident enough to take the D rank test, but he'd finally taken it two days ago and passed. The only thing to be heard in the ensuing silence was Tide happily splashing about in the pond. After a moments pause, Joey gave a cocksure smile, though I noticed a wary glint in his eye.

“Sure I am, Lin,” he answered, then scratched his head sheepishly. “Just keep in mind that she's pretty big, and she tends to be loud.” With that grabbed the pokeball of his best and released his pokemon. As she coalesced in the beam of light, she spread her wings and let out a fearsome screech. He'd really been telling the truth when he warned us about the noise . . . and her size. She looked to stand around 6 feet tall. She was definitely bigger than anyone else in the clearing. 

“Eveyone, I'd like you to meet Scarlet.” At the sound of Joey's voice, the large bird stepped closer to him, her feathers clinking, and lowered her head. He reached up and pet her beak. “Scar, these are my friends. Linda, Dahlia, Zach, and Damon,” he said soothingly, pointing at each of us in turn. “These other pokemon you see are theirs. I want you to play nice, understand?” Scarlet loosed a quieter, metallic noise and turned her black on yellow eyes at us. Everyone seemed be frozen in place, so I stood up slowly, lifting Luca into his favored position on my hip, and approached her.

“Hi, Scarlet. I'm Dahlia, and this is Luca,” I said to her, lifting my hand up. “It's nice to meet you.” The armored bird pokemon considered me for a moment. Luca was tense in my grasp, ready to move at a moment's notice. Then she let out a harsh sounding trill in greeting and nudged my hand gently with her beak. Joey smiled at me and patted his pokemon's side, careful to avoid her sharp feathers. The others all followed in suit, though only Zach was brave enough to touch her.

Soon enough we were all spread out on the blanket eating our lunches. The pokemon all seemed to like the nutrient rich pokemon food well enough. The sandwiches, though a little sloppy, tasted good, and my mother's berry salad seemed to be a hit with both the humans and the pokemon, who all received a few berries from the salad from their respective trainers. Linda's cookies, though basic, were quite good, and marked the first time any of us had had anything sugary since moving to the trainer district. The food at the Center tasted well enough, but all of it was geared more toward nutrition. 

When we were all done eating, Joey and Zach teamed up to play keep away fetch with Ari. After they convinced Damon to join in, Linda sat next to me in a huff and joined me in feeding Tide tidbits of berries that he'd missed out on in the pond. Cindy, a pokemon whose personality was miraculously well matched to her trainer, spent some time trying to coax Luca out of his shell. He stubbornly remained clinging to me, though, so she eventually left to try her luck with Larvitar.

“I can't believe him!” Linda burst out after several minutes of quiet. My brow furrowed in confusion until her next sentence. “I spend all this time trying to be nice to him, and all he does is ignore me, but the instant Joey, or you, or Zach talk to him, he's suddenly fine with social interaction!” She threw her last piece of berry into the pond with a splash, and Tide happily dives down to retrieve it. I went over what I'd observed of their past interactions with each other in my head, but couldn't think what to say. She groans loudly. “Not you, too!”

“I don't think it's anything against you,” I started hesitantly. “Maybe your personalities just clash a little.” She seemed to be listening, so I continued with a little more confidence. “Damon seems like he's a bit of a loner, so he's not used being around someone so energetic. It also seems like he's got a lot of pride. When you try so hard to be nice and involve him all the time, he might see it as a bit condescending or think you pity him. Maybe if you keep that in mind and try not to focus so much on it, he'll come around,” I finished awkwardly, wincing internally at how little sense I'd made. The silence stretched on as Linda appeared to be deep in thought. “Linda?” I really hoped I hadn't screwed up. Her head jerked up at her name, and she seemed to register that I was waiting for her to say something. 

“You can call me Lin, like Joey did earlier. I've never had a nickname before, and I kind of like it. Linda is so old-fashioned.” She smiled at me. “You actually give really good advice, Dahlia. Thanks.” I let out a huff of air in relief.

“No need to sound so surprised,” I griped in good humor, glad that my little speech didn't blow up in my face. I still had absolutely no idea what she'd taken from it. Ari chose that moment to come running over, nearly knocking me into the pond in his haste. He licked cheek gently in apology before flopping over onto his side, panting. I rubbed the saliva off my cheek in consternation, but gave his ears a scratch. The boys of the group, who'd been keeping him occupied until then, came over soon after.

“Zach mentioned that he's having a bit of trouble with missions with only Tide, so we all decided to go out and try to catch a second pokemon,” Joey informed us, eyes bright with excitement, while the other boys returned their pokemon to their balls. He appeared to have already collected Scarlet. I nodded in acceptance, but Linda spoke up before they could take off.

“At least help clean up a little before you go,” she commanded formidably, though I thought she slightly tense. There was a bit of complaining, largely from Damon and Joey, but in short order we had all of the trash gathered up and the blanket folded. The boys eagerly took their leave. That left Linda - Lin and I to take everything back to the Pokemon Center. I noticed that she was significantly less talkative than usual, and seemed down as we walked back. Thinking on it, I realized that she probably felt left out. I hadn't really thought much on it when the boys brought up their planned trip; it was a practical thing to do and I'd subconsciously written it off as a male bonding thing when neither Lin or I had been invited. Lin seemed a lot more sensitive than I was though, and she was a very social person. On top of that, much like the boys, she still only had one pokemon, and it was a lot safer to go outside the walls in a group until we were stronger trainers. With all of that in mind, the solution seemed obvious.

“Do you want to go out and look for another pokemon with me, Lin?” I asked. “Just us girls?” She had been deep in thought when I asked my question, and seemed startled for a second before she lit up and positively beamed at me.

“Yes!” she squealed, grabbing my hands and spinning us around in a circle. “Race you to the center!” she shouted, picking up the basket from where she'd dropped it and racing off. I huffed in amusement, and draped the picnic blanket over my shoulder before taking off after her. It was good exercise at least. 

After leaving the picnic supplies at the Center and grabbing some pokeballs to use, we decided to leave from the east gate. It was Lin's first time using the train system since she'd become a trainer, and she seemed discomfited with the way the people on our train avoided us, but she seemed to decide not to let it get her down after the first few minutes. She kept up a steady stream of chatter about anything from what I thought the Center would serve dinner to what kinds of cute pokemon did I want to catch, the latter of which didn't really help with the surrounding civilians who overheard her, but if she didn't care, I wouldn't let it bother me either.

We let our pokemon out as soon as the gates closed behind us. Luca and Ari didn't need to hunt this time due to their recent meal at the picnic. All three pokemon kept faithfully by our sides, ready and willing to protect us from the wild pokemon around. We kept quiet for the most part, knowing that the sound of our voices would scare away any pokemon weak enough for us to capture easily and attract pokemon that were strong and willing enough to try to kill us for being human. A Sewaddle, older and stronger than then one I'd killed on my Trial dropped from a tree to attack us, but once both Lin and I had confirmed that we didn't want to catch it, Ari made quick work of driving it off. The process was repeated when we ran into various more common pokemon such as Pidove and Patrat, a creepy, wild eyed Pansage, and a strong Heracross that had taken all three of our pokemon battling it concert to defeat. The only pokemon Lin had seemed interested in was a Sunkern that I had to agree was truly adorable, but it had fled and disappeared into the foliage before we could even engage it in battle. Things continued it this manner until we came across pond. A few pokemon had been drinking from it, but they must have all been pretty weak, because they all scattered as soon as they saw us. The only ones left were the water pokemon I presumed lived underneath the surface of the water, where we couldn't see them, and one lone Ducklett that was frolicking in the shallows of the water and hadn't noticed us yet. Lin's eyes lit up, and she seemed to quiver in excitement.

“Cindy, use disarming voice!” Lin shouted drawing the Ducklett's attention. The small bird geared itself up to attack in response, but was hit with Cindy's attack before it could. It over backwards and looked dazed when it got back up, but ran forward to batter Cindy with white glowing wings nonetheless, causing the Audino to cry out in pain. “Double slap!” Lin cried out, and Cindy complied, sending the light weight duck flying several feet. “Now pound!” With the last attack, the duck pokemon collapsed, panting heavily and seeming unable to get up, and Lin took the opportunity to toss a pokeball. The Ducklett must not have had any fight left in it, because to pokeball barely shook at all before the usual 'ding' announced a successful capture. After a moment of complete stillness, Lin took one step forward, and then another, until she was near enough to grab the pokeball containing her new pokemon. She then turned around and gave me a smile that was almost manic with elation.

“Did you see that!? Cindy was so awesome! And Ducklett is sooo cute!” she cheered, carrying on for several minutes. When she didn't seem like she would stop any time soon, I began to lead us back the way we came. Lin continued her squeals of celebration and followed without paying much attention, and Cindy was beaming as well, nodding along with everything her trainer was saying. That left it to my pokemon and I to be on the lookout for danger. It took around ten minutes for Lin to finally settle down some, though she was still too distracted to help much with driving off the wild pokemon. In all honesty, I thought it was a very good thing that I'd come along with her, because she and Cindy could be taken out by a Dunsparce at this point.

I fended off a number of pokemon on the way back, and for every one of them that I battled, Lin rattled off the various pros and cons of catching it. She seemed determined that I catch a pokemon as well, now that she'd met her goal. I didn't really plan on catching another pokemon at this point, though, not unless it was one of the pokemon that I'd noted in my studies for the Trial as something I would want to catch. All of my pokemon slots as a pokemon trainer were already full, so if I caught another before I passed the C rank test, it would only be sent into stasis. So there was really no reason to catch another pokemon until I reached C class. That was, until the events that occurred within the next hour had to be taken into account.

When we were a mere ten to fifteen minutes away from the gate, we were disturbed by the sounds of a vicious pokemon battle. Judging by the lack of human voices, it was a fight between wild pokemon. Though it didn't really have any bearing on us, we were curious enough to seek it out. What we found was merely nature following its course, but it was heartbreaking nonetheless. A large Venipede that appeared to be on the cusp of evolution was attacking two Cottonee. Normally grass pokemon weren't targeted as food by other pokemon, most of them not having much, if any, meat to them. The more aggressive breeds of bug pokemon, such as the Venipede line, were the exception. The larger Cottonee was fighting desperately against the predator, regardless of the futility of the act, in order to protect the smaller one, which had been drastically injured. They were most likely parent and child. Upon that realization, I decided to take action.

“Ari, use ember on the Venipede,” I ordered grimly. He immediately obeyed, and the Venipede let out a grating screech of irritation as the fire attack impacted its side. It immediately turned its attention to us, letting loose a barrage of poison stings. Ari dodged them with ease, growling with menace. The bug pokemon cringed briefly before shaking it off, but looked slightly more cautious than before, and I realized that it must have been Ari's natural ability to intimidate kicking in. The Venidpede's next move was to use bug bite, darting in and getting the hit in before Ari could move. I realized that the Venipede really was very close to evolving if it knew that move. “Flame wheel, Ari.”

If there was ever a time for the Growlithe to get the move perfected, it was now. Fire attacks were the only thing effective enough to give us a chance at beating a bug pokemon of this strength without resorting to roar. It was also a higher level fire move than ember, and was capable of causing more damage. Fortunately, Ari came through, executing a perfect flame wheel and a solid hit against the wild pokemon, who screeched in agony. “Now use ember!” The bright flames flew at the venipede, but a glowing blue barrier of energy stopped it in its tracks. It was using protect. “Again.” The same thing happened. “One more time.” The ember attack flew through the air once more. This time, though the Venipede clearly tried to use protect again, only a few thin wisps of energy appeared, and then vanished again as the ember approached the centipede pokemon. It wailed in pain. 

Then, pokemon curled into a ball and took on a slightly brown tint, rolling forward at a rapid pace. Ari was able to dodge, but it just turned around and came right back around. “Keep using ember on it,” I told Ari, but when he tried, the attack kept landing just behind it. “Aim for where its going to be instead of where it is now.” With that piece of advise, the Growlithe had more luck, and managed to hit the bug several time. He was having a hard time of it though, having to worry about dodging all of the rollouts, which were steadily increasing in power as they gained momentum, on top of trying to hit his constantly moving target.

“Ari, switch out with Luca!” I called to him after another pass. Luca nimbly jumped forward while Ari retreated back to my side, panting heavily, and glaring at the Venipede with hard eyes. I kept my focus on the battle. “The next time it comes around, stand your ground until the last minute,” I told Luca. “When its right in front of you, use the strongest force palm you can.” Luca nodded sharply in affirmation, centering himself in a ready stance. It was my hope that using the powerful fighting type move on the Venipede while it was using a rock type move would give it a stronger affect than it usually would have on a bug pokemon. 

When the Venipede next came around, Luca he brought forward his glowing white paw and unleashed his energy. The resulting collision threw the Venipede cleanly out of its rollout and Luca back several feet, though he was standing again within seconds. The centipede pokemon writhed on the ground, crackling with sparks and wailing, but otherwise unable to move. Force palm's secondary affect had kicked in and paralyzed it. “Finish it off with another force palm.” Luca complied almost before the words left my mouth, and the Venipede's weak movements finally stilled. I turned my attention to where Lin and Cindy had been trying to assist the Cottonees, throughout the battle, and walked over. They were crouched over the grievously injured young Cottonee, while its parent hovered warily to the side.

“Cindy was able to use refresh to cure the poison,” Lin informed me, “but she doesn't know any other healing moves, and the potion I tried to use didn't do anything.” She was choking back tears. The baby pokemon whimpered softly, and its parent crooned, trying to comfort it.

“I don't think regular potions are able heal such extensive damage,” I told her. “I don't even know if one of the stronger potions would work in this case.” I could only think of one thing that might save it. I took out a pokeball and turned to the parent Conttonee. “If I catch it, its will be held in stasis until I can get it to the Pokemon Center. They'll be able to heal it,” I said seriously to the parent. I wasn't sure how much it could understand, but it was listening intently. “But if I do that, it won't be able to come back. It will have to stay with me for the rest of its life, or it will be killed out here.” It was true, and the pokemon I was speaking to knew it. Wild pokemon hated pokemon that had been captured by humans and were able to tell, mostly by scent, if another pokemon had spent extensive time among humans. The parent Cottonee's eyes fixed on the pokeball in my hand for several moments, then moved to the baby and back. When the baby whimpered again, the adult crooned and rubbed its face against its child's head. Then it gave me a look of deep sorrow, and nodded. I slowly reached forward to tap the pokeball against the baby, and in a beam of red light, it was sucked in. The ball didn't even shake once before it dinged a successful capture. I then pulled out my pokedex and fit the pokeball into the proper indentation, and the laser shot out to scan it. 

“Registering pokeball to Dahlia Moore, D class trainer. Cottonee – the cotton puff pokemon. They go wherever the wind takes them. On rainy days, their bodies are heavier, so they take shelter beneath big trees. Perhaps because they feel more at ease in a group, they stick to others they find. They end up looking like a cloud. When attacked, it escapes by shooting cotton from its body. The cotton serves as a decoy to distract the attacker. This Cottonee is male and has the ability 'infiltrator'. Cottonee knows the moves: absorb and growth.” The flash of light came next and Cottonee was gone into true stasis. While just being in a pokeball did put the pokemon in a kind of stasis, it wouldn't have completely prevented Cottonee's injuries from effecting him. Now that he was in complete stasis, he was safe from his injuries until I got him out. I used the pokedex to scan the parent next, wanting to know if it was the mother or father. “Cottonee – the cotton puff pokemon. This Cottonee is female.” I exchanged a solemn look with my new Cottonee's mother.

“I promise to take care of him,” I said as I stood up, and Lin and the pokemon lined up next to me. With a final nod of respect and farewell, we resumed our trek back to the gate, significantly more subdued than before.


End file.
